


Pokémon Win, Lose, and Draw

by ChilanBerry



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Fakemon, Gen, Original Items, Original Pokemon Region, Original TM Layout, Peggy Sue Plot without an original timeline, Pokemon Contests, Pokemon Journey, Time Travel, Type Chart Retcons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 02:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 103,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12854451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChilanBerry/pseuds/ChilanBerry
Summary: Roma Pomadoro finds himself at the Agricalean Pokémon League. The trouble is, the gate has been closed by some strange group. After finding a strange shrine, he travels back in time with the help of the Mythical Celebi. Can he and his friend Merla Traub defeat this mysterious Team Fortune to save the region?





	1. The Road of Champions

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've posted fanfiction online. Let me know what you think!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin at the end! That's how these stories work, right?

Roma awoke in his tent just as the sun peeked over the castle in the distance. Roma stretched his back and wondered if he should purchase a new sleeping bag soon. Then again, this one seemed to work well enough; he just had to adjust the filling a bit. He stepped out the tent and started disassembling it. It was a relatively quiet morning, which was fine by him - the Pokémon in the cave he'd just passed through were fairly tough. They'd all seemed healthy, too. Roma started walking down the path to the Pokémon League, still lost in his own thoughts.

A few birds twittered as he made his way there, singing a pretty song. Roma smiled; it really was a nice day, too - not too hot, not that cold for an early morning, visibility was good. As he passed through the trellises along the well-worn, grassy path, Roma thought the flowers were rather nice. He didn't recognize any of the blooms, but he figured they were mountain flowers of some sort.

Faded white marks and rough grooves covered the rock walls along Victory Road, a sign of fierce battles long past. Indeed, the region of Agricales was embroiled in bitter war for many years, but for some reason lost to the annals of history, it had all petered out around three hundred years ago. The north half, being rocky and mountainous as it was, had excellent defensive positions all throughout it. The Ramaria Sea to the south was always bustling with activity, having the two largest cities in the region there.

The path Roma followed was straight and paved now, with flowers like the ones on the trellises on either side. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the castle - and the league within - got nearer and nearer. Soon enough, he came to the high gate separating the grounds proper from the road. The ornate iron door was sturdy enough to block a thousand strikes without giving an inch, with what amounted to a metallic mural forged onto it, depicting three great beasts and a shining bird charging to the sun. That wasn't what held Roma's attention, though; no, it was the two people standing in front of the gate arguing that Roma wanted to know about. They hadn't noticed him yet, so he moved to the side of the road as he eavesdropped.

"Alright, one more time, man, I can't tell you what I don't know," said the man closer to the door, who was wearing a strange jumpsuit with bright blue paint on it in odd lines and a hair net.

"I can't accept that!" shouted the other man, with red hair and wearing a long-sleeved white tee. "You have to know something, or you wouldn't be here!"

The man in the jumpsuit shrugged. "I just do what they tell me to, man. It's a living."

"I need to get back in there! I need to prepare for the League, let me in!" He shook his arms violently.

"It's a no go, man. I ain't even allowed back in there. Honestly, 't's a bit unfair." The man in the jumpsuit looked to the side.

"Why even do this, then? You're doing things you don't understand for reasons you haven't been told."

"Like I said three times now, it's a job. I'm in this for the money. All the reason I need."

"How much are they paying you? I can-"

"You can't bribe me now, man. I'm already here, I couldn't help you if I wanted to. I don't, by the way, so you might as well try to get help by heading down Victory Road and-" It was at this point the man in the jumpsuit noticed Roma standing some few yards away. "What the- Who're you?"

"I could ask you two the same question," Roma said. "Why is the League gate closed?"

"You're a Trainer?" asked the man in the white shirt. Roma nodded hesitantly. "Good. We've got a problem - some group of terrorists have seiged Lucky Castle, and I don't know why."

"Why should I help you?" Roma asked. "From what I just heard, this guy doesn't know anything."

"You should help because it'd be better for us both to work together!" He shook his arms angrily.

"I'm jus' gonna let you two settle this," the man in the jumpsuit muttered as he leaned back onto the gate, "enjoy the show."

"Why can't you get in on your own? You've got to be a strong Trainer if you're preparing to take on the League."

"My Pokémon are in the castle," the man in white said. "I was on a morning walk and when I got back, the seige gate was shut tight, and he," he pointed at the other man, "was standing in front of it. I've been trying to get anything I could out of him, but he's damn tight-lipped."

At this, the man in the jumpsuit rolled his eyes and spoke up. "Hey, I told you, I'm just as in the dark as you. Arc, clean your ears, why don't ya?" he said.

"I need to get in there, too." Roma looked up. "It doesn't look too high."

"You've got a Flying-type Pokémon?" the man in the shirt asked.

"Whoa, hey," the man in the jumpsuit said. "I can't let you go over." He pulled a Pokéball from a pouch at his side.

"What?" the man in white asked incredulously. "You have a flying-"

"I guess we should make this official, huh? I'm gonna challenge you to a Pokémon battle. How many flying Pokémon have you got?"

Roma hesitated. "Just one..."

"Alright. One-on-one, mine versus yours. First one out loses. If you win, I don't try to stop you from going over, and if you lose, you don't go over."

"How do I know you won't try to stop me anyway?"

"I don't have any other Pokémon, man," he replied. He opened his pouch again and showed it was empty. "See? Nothing." He smirked, and gestured towards the man in the white shirt. "Fussy over there can ref, so how about it?"

Roma looked between the two men. This really wasn't what he'd expected would happen today. Still, if this was the only way into the Pokémon League, he had to take the chance. He nodded. "You're on."

"Great. Let's back up a bit, so we don't ruin the pretty gate, huh?" He leaned up and walked back down the path. Roma and "Fussy" followed.

"Are you both ready?" the man in the white shirt asked where the path turned back to dirt. "This will be a one-on-one Single battle between the challenger and the challenged. They will use only their Pokémon that can fly. Neither battler may use items. Ready?" They nodded. "Send out your Pokémon!"

Roma threw a red-and-white Pokéball into the air and from it emerged a shining, metallic bird with a sharply-angled face and slatted wings in a flash of white light; the other man likewise sent out a purple bat with a large, droopy mouth and purple, spotty wings. "A Golbat," Roma thought. "Its attacks shouldn't be too strong."

"Begin!"

"Tamaha, use Metal Sound!" At Roma's cue, the metal bird unleashed a harsh, grating noise from her wings, sending shivers through the spines of everyone present.

"Golbat, shut it up with Swift!" A light came from the bat's throat and stars erupted from its mouth, swirling around and striking its opponent in the back.

"Tamaha, you okay?" Tamaha looked back and nodded firmly. "Good," Roma said to himself, "glad you're a Steel-type. Now, use Steel Wing!" Tamaha lumbered up and brought its metallically-shining wings down on the Golbat.

"Dodge, Golbat!" It rolled backwards and out of Tamaha's range with seconds to spare. "Looks like your Skarmory's too slow, huh?" the jumpsuited man said. "It probably can't even bring you up, can it?"

"She can," Roma said. "She's tough."

"Right," he said, rolling his eyes. "Well, guess we'll take you down, then. Golbat, Curse!"

"Curse?" Roma said. Curse was a move that lowered a Pokémon's speed in exchange for physical power. Why bother using it on a Pokémon that was fast, against something good against physical attacks?

Roma's questions were answered, but his confusion only grew, when the Golbat seemed to pantomime driving a spike into its own skull, then stumbled backwards in pain. Roma's confusion turned to fear when Tamaha cried out in a similar pain and shut her eyes tight. "Tamaha, what's wrong?"

"Curse works differently for Ghost-types," the man in the white shirt said. "It takes a Pokémon halfway to fainting, then drains its opponent."

"Hey, ref, aren't you supposed to be impartial?" asked the man in the jumpsuit.

"Official battle rules," he replied. "You weren't gonna tell him, right?"

"Can I stop it?" Roma asked, panicked.

"No, you can't," the man in the white shirt said. "Just beat him before I have to call it out."

Roma searched his mind for any way to finish this fight before Tamaha got hurt any more. "Tamaha, climb!" She shook her head to clear it, then charged at the wall.

"Pft, good luck hitting me there," Roma's opponent said, "Golbat isn't even over there."

Tamaha dug her claws into the rough stone and clambered up the cliff, spreading her wings into the air and taking to the sky.

"What?!" The man in the jumpsuit was incredulous. "Golbat, use Swift; knock it out of the sky!"

"Tamaha, wall bounce!" As the Golbat fired off another set of stars, Tamaha flew into a wall and rebounded with the impact, while most of the stars struck the same spot she'd just bounced from. A few still hit her, but the damage was minimized. "Great, keep climbing!"

"Crap, Golbat, after it!" The Golbat flexed its wings and took off, soaring straight at Tamaha. "Wing Attack!" Its wings began to glow a bright blueish-white.

"Beat it down!" Roma called.

"What?!" said the man in the white shirt. Tamaha whirled around and smacked the Golbat straight down into the paved stones. "Oogh." The man in white flinched.

"Stall and use Steel Wing!" Tamaha turned to the ground and pulled her wings back. As she slowed in the air, she began to lose altitude and sank like a stone. Her wings began to glow with that shiny, metallic shine Steel Wing made.

"Crap, Swift!" Tamaha brought her wing down. The Golbat fired Swift. A cloud of dust obscured the rest, though.

The man in the white shirt called out, "That's enough! This match is over." As the cloud settled, the faint forms of Tamaha and the Golbat became visible, Tamaha on top and immobile, and the Golbat barely able to struggle beneath her.

"Tamaha," Roma whispered. "S-she can't fight anymore," he said a little louder.

"I agree," he said. Roma sent a red beam of light from Tamaha's ball to her unconcious body, enveloping her and bringing her back into it.

"Looks like I win, then," Roma's opponent said.

"You Golbat can't fight either. This match is a draw."

"Yeah, but I did my job." He likewise returned his Pokémon, then held up his arm. "You guys can't get over the gate, right? Mission accomplished."

The man in the white shirt slapped his forehead. "Ah, of course! How could I have-"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter now," Roma said. "Let's head back to the gate, maybe there's a way to get through we don't know about."

Uneasily, the two of them started walking back to the wrought iron gate, with the man in the jumpsuit following behind.


	2. Time Altar-ation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma finds some unlikely allies, and a way around the gate.

"It's no good," the man in the white shirt said. "There isn't a way over." He'd just spent a few minutes trying to climb the cliff to the right of the gate, and fell on his back every time. He sighed. "And I'm all dirty now, too. I should've learned how to rock-climb."

"You live surrounded by mountains, and you don't know how to climb them? Seriously, that never crossed your mind?" The man in the jumpsuit was leaning against the gate again, and posed the question.

"Well, if I needed something high up, then I always asked Gneiss."

"Wait, who are you?" asked Roma.

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself, have I?" He stuck his hand down his shirt and pulled out a card from his pocket. "Here, my card."

"He has a card?" Roma thought as he accepted it. On the cream-colored card was printed "Trevor Dunnock, Elite Four Member, Normal-type", and some contact information. Roma raised his eyebrows in turn. "Elite Four?"

"Yep," he said, smirking. "Great to meet you, Mr..." He held out his hand.

"Ah, Pomadoro. Roma Pomadoro." He shook it.

"Who I was talking about was Gneiss Bandner. He's another member of Elite Four, Rock-type. He can scale a wall like nobody's business, and he could... Wait, what are they doing?"

"What are who doing?"

"Gneiss, North, and Heather. They should all be up and about by now, why aren't they on the offensive?"

"Pro'ly got caught," the man in the jumpsuit said. They turned to him. "Maybe di'n't make it outta their rooms, some'm'."

"The Elite Four doesn't just get caught," Trevor said, slightly haughty.

"I don't know, don't ask me, man." He shrugged. "Whatever the reason, they ain't launchin' an attack. We're out here, and they're in there."

"I hope the Pokémon in there are being taken care of," Roma said.

"I hope so, too," Trevor said. "I've been waiting for an Egg to hatch, and it seemed really close."

Roma turned to Trevor. "You've kept it incubated properly?"

"Of course. We've got excellent staff. I've got no doubt in my mind it's been taken care of well."

"Does that mean you haven't been checking on it?" Roma furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, I have, every other day or so. It's a quiet egg, is all. I've just been-"

"Hey, you two," the jumpsuited man said. "Much as I'm enjoyin' 'Roma's Eggy Hour', how 'bout we cut it short and focus on the big gate? Seems a little more pressing."

Roma and Trevor looked at him, annoyed. Roma rolled his eyes. "Fine, I guess you're right. How are we going to get over this wall?"

"We can't, that's what we've just spent the last few minutes figuring out. Why don't you have any revival medicine?"

"I used it all in Victory Road, I hate seeing Pokémon hurt."

"You didn't save anything? Go ahead and check," the man in the jumpsuit said.

Roma nodded and searched through his pack. "Why are you encouraging him?" Trevor asked. "We're trying to stop you."

He shrugged. "Call it 'intelligence gathering', if you need to. I'm curious."

"Ah!" Roma pulled out a small tin of some kind. "I forgot I had these: Revival Herbs."

"Yes!" Trevor pumped his fist. "We can definitely get over with those!"

"Ugh, Tamaha doesn't like these bitter things, but I don't have any other options," Roma thought. He opened the tin and tried not to gag at the harsh smell the herbs had. "Alright, Tamaha," he said as he pulled out her ball, "you've got this!" He hurled it into the air, and the Skarmory emerged in a burst of light. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she made a disgusted face at the awful smell. Roma knelt by her side and said, "Tamaha, I know this isn't ideal. I don't want to force you to eat these," he held a few leaves of the herb, "but I also want to keep you healthy. So, do you think you can keep them down?"

Tamaha closed her eyes wearily, but opened them again and nodded. As she opened her beak, Roma lightly crumpled the leaves and gently set them in. The metal bird fought back a tear as she swallowed the herbs whole, recoiling from the pungent flavor and harsh texture. They did their job, though - within a few seconds, the aches all over body faded, and she felt her exhaustion fall away. She shook her head and stood firmly. Roma smiled.

"Why didn't she chew 'em?" the man in the jumpsuit asked.

"Revival Herbs have to be swallowed whole," Roma explained. "Their oils are really volatile. It's why a lot of Pokémon can't take them easily." He paused for a second, then opened the tin again. "Your Golbat should be able to-"

"Wait, what?!" Trevor shouted. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm giving him Revival Herbs," Roma said.

"Why? He's just going to attack again."

"If we try to go over the gate again, sure."

Trevor narrowed his eyes. "Are you implying what-"

Roma looked away. "Even if Tamaha's in good enough condition to take us both over, what do we do then?" He turned back to Trevor. "Storm the place? Charge to where you keep your Pokémon? Without any medicine, we've got pretty bad chances of making it inside, and it'll only get tougher from there."

"So that's it? 'It's tough, so I don't want to do it'?"

"I'm not going to risk my Pokémon's health on a foolhardy charge into a bunch of people who could be trying to kill us." Roma turned to the other man. "Send out your Golbat, I'm treating him."

"Okay, sure," he said as he pulled the Golbat's ball from his pouch.

"Fine, we aren't going over the gate, I get that. But why treat the Golbat?"

"I don't like seeing Pokémon hurt," Roma said, as if it were the last word on the subject. The Pokémon emerged from its ball, and sat there, clearly exhausted. Roma knelt down to it, just as he had to Tamaha. "Hello, Golbat. It's nice to meet you." Roma smiled.

"Ugh, this is stupid," Trevor said behind Roma.

Ignoring him, Roma continued. "I'd like to give you some medicine. It'll make you feel a lot better, but you can't chew it. It'll be pretty bitter, but I know you can handle it, right?" The Golbat looked at him, confused. Weren't they just battling? It looked at its Trainer, who shrugged in response. It opened its mouth cautiously, and Roma set the leaves in just as gently as before. "Try not to chew them," he said. The purple bat swallowed the herbs and shivered at the taste. Still, it began to feel better almost immediately, its Curse-induced headache evaporating. The Golbat smiled wide. "Glad you're feeling better," Roma said in response.

"Hey, thanks, man," the man in the jumpsuit said. "I really appreciate it."

Roma turned to him angrily. "I wouldn't have had to do that if you hadn't taught your Golbat Curse. You obviously knew how it worked, so why put your Pokémon through that?"

"Hey, I didn't teach it that," he said defensively, raising his hands. "It's not really mine, I got it back for this and it already knew it."

Roma sighed wearily and held his head. "Some people can't treat their Pokémon right, can they?" He straightened up. "Promise me you'll try to help him learn something else."

"Uh, yeah, I can do that," he said, shrugging. "Ain't gonna mean much, though."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Roma said seriously.

The three sat in silence for a while after that, Trevor fuming a bit and pacing, Roma caring for Tamaha, and the last man leaning against the gate. The sun climbed higher in the sky, and no noise came from behind the gate.

"Argh!" Trevor swung his arms down in a paroxysm of anger. "What is going on in there?! They're sure taking their time!"

"Well, if we're just waitin', why don't we try to pass the time by gettin' to know each other?" the man in the jumpsuit asked.

Trevor narrowed his eyebrows and stared. After a moment, he said, "Fine. Can't stand this waiting. Let's start with you, then."

The man in the jumpsuit waved his hand. "Ah, wait. Roma's gotta ask me questions. I'll ask you, then you ask him."

"What's the point of that?!"

He smirked. "To make you mad."

Trevor's face turned red and he let out a snort. "Congratulations," he said through clenched teeth. "It's working."

He laughed. "Alright, Roma," he said as he turned to Roma. "Ask away."

Roma thought for a second. "What's your name?" he asked.

The man in the jumpsuit thought for a second. "Well, I guess I owe you that much, you did heal my Golbat. My name's Ramson."

"Ramson?" Roma asked.

He nodded. "Ramson Skordo."

Roma nodded. "Thanks for telling me."

Ramson smiled. "Yeah, no problem. Now, Trevor."

Trevor, slightly less red-faced, said, "What?", less as a question than a dismissal.

Ramson, ignoring his tone, asked, "What's somethin' you haven't told anyone - no, some'n' you never told the other Elite Four?"

Trevor's face cooled down a little more as he thought. He hesitated, but said, "You'll probably laugh, but I can use magic."

Ramson, duly, let out a guffaw. Roma raised an eyebrow. "You mean you can cast moves and spells and things?" he asked.

"Ah, c'mon, he's just leading us on," Ramson said.

Trevor shook his head. "No, I'm sure I can use magic. Not like move magic, but..." Trevor trailed off, lost in thought, then his eyes lit up. "That's right! C'mon, Roma. I've got an idea." He bolted down the path. Roma and Ramson followed behind, at a slower pace.

When they'd caught up, Trevor stood in front of a boulder lying against the mountain-cliff wall. "Here! Watch!" Trevor pushed his hand against it, and it began to glow a bright green.

"W-What?!" Ramson took a step back in shock. His Golbat's eyes grew as big as dinner plates.

"That's definitely something," Roma said, just about as shocked. Tamaha stared.

"See?" Trevor said. "No one I know has been able to do this, ever. What's even more impressive is what's behind it, though."

"Behind? Behind that rock?" Ramson asked, incredulous.

"Would a Pokémon using Strength help with that?" Roma asked.

"No, that's just it," Trevor said, holding his arms in front of him now. "If you move it, there's nothing behind it, but while it's glowing, it can't be moved. And that's because there's some kind of secret passage behind it."

"A... secret passage," Ramson said, resigned.

"Yes, and I just have... a feeling," he shook his arms, "this is where we need to go to fix this."

"If it is, can we come in through the rock, with you?"

Trevor frowned. "No, I'm the only one that can go through."

Ramson walked up to the still-glowing boulder and tried to lean his hand on it. His hand, and then the rest of his body, fell straight through it. He gave a shout as he plummeted.

It was Trevor's turn to be shocked. "H-How did you do that?! Wait, if you can..." He whirled to Roma. "Roma, go touch it."

"W-what?"

"If he can't touch it, he can go through it," Trevor said excitedly. "If you can, too - you see what I'm saying?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Roma said uncertainly. He walked up to the boulder and tried to set his hand on it. Just as Trevor'd expected, his hand went through.

"Alright, so we can walk into some cave," Ramson said, dusting himself off. "What's that matter?"

"Come on, I'll show you," Trevor said as he walked straight through the boulder. Roma returned Tamaha and followed behind him, and with a shrug, so did Ramson.

The three emerged from the cave and found themselves in a clearing in a deep, green forest. Directly ahead of them was a squat, decrepit, and old structure made of gray stone and covered in deep green moss.

"Here we are!" Trevor held his arms out. "This is the forest shrine."

Roma looked around. Besides the stone structure, which he assumed was the "shrine" in question, there wasn't much of note there. The trees, covered in vines, seemed eerily quiet, and the air just as still.

Ramson said, "So why are we here? This shrine gonna help us take the castle?"

"What do you mean, 'us'?" Trevor asked.

"Eh," he shrugged, "I'm a simple guy. Someone helps me out, I help 'em back."

Trevor raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's all it takes?"

"Hey, if you don't want my help-"

"How did you think this shrine would help?" Roma asked, as he'd just accepted Ramson's changing loyalty.

Trevor refocused. "Right, well, get closer to the shrine," he said, gesturing to it.

As Roma walked closer, the moss covering the shrine seemed to die - no, it seemed to shrink, and grow lighter. The stone the shrine was made of seemed to reverse its erosion, and sometimes defied gravity and put itself back together. "W-what exactly am I looking at here?"

"Isn't it odd?" Trevor said. "The shrine seems like it goes through time in reverse as you get closer. If there's some way to harness it-"

"We could go back in time?" Roma finished.

"Exactly," Trevor said as he pointed at Roma. "The only question is how."

"Could it be a Pokémon?"

"That could be," Trevor said, bringing a thumb to his mouth, "but if it is, which one could it be?"

"Probably some'm' to do with time," Ramson said.

"Right." Trevor nodded. "There aren't many that fit that bill, though. None spring to my mind, anyway."

"Could just be a move."

"That's not possible," Trevor said. "There aren't any moves that can manipulate time like this."

"Trick Room is closest," Roma said, "and it doesn't reverse time so much as slow down or speed up Pokémon. It's probably a Pokémon's innate ability, then."

"Likely a powerful one. Rare, too." Trevor held out a finger. "I've never heard of a Pokémon time traveling, have you?"

"I haven't," Roma said. "This would be easier if we had, though."

"Maybe a Legendary Pokémon?" Trevor closed his eyes. "Let's see, there's Dialga," he suggested.

"Dialga? What type of Pokémon is it?" Roma asked.

"It's Steel-Dragon, and it keeps time flowing."

"What part of that is time, Steel or Dragon?"

"The Dragon part, I guess," Trevor said.

"Wouldn't it be the Steel part?"

"What does metal have to do with time?"

"What do dragons have to do with time?"

"Well, I guess, but-"

"Celebi," Ramson interjected. "I think it could be a Celebi."

Trevor looked at him. "Celebi? What's it like?"

"It was in a movie I saw a while back. The hero - well, one'v'em, anyway - he met a Celebi an' went 50 years ahead, or so. He got back to his own time in the end after, y'know, the plot of the movie."

"Hm..." Trevor nodded slowly. "It could be, but we'd need a better idea of what it's like."

"Remember anything else about it?" Roma asked.

Ramson said, "Yeah, yeah. It got turned into a giant monster made outta tree roots."

"Tree roots?" Trevor looked at the ground, and at the bases of the trees. "There might be something to that."

"It needed to get in some fresh water, too, to heal up."

"What did it look like?"

"Looked like a green fairy, its head looked kinda like a teardrop 'r an onion, some'm like that."

"Probably a Grass-type," Trevor said. "Maybe Fairy? Doesn't really sound like a time Pokémon..."

"It could be Psychic," Roma suggested.

"Maybe, maybe." Trevor looked around at the trees. "Psychic could work. Trick Room's Psychic," he mumbled, hand back at his mouth.

"If we're tryin' 'a bring it here, we should try offering some'm at the shrine. Sound like a good idea?" Ramson said.

"I've got a few berries," Roma said. "That could work."

Trevor nodded. "Let's try it. Here, use this."

Roma set a few berries of varying flavors on the handkerchief Trevor handed him. As he backed up from the shrine, it began to glow with a soft green.

"It's working!" Trevor exclaimed. As the shrine's glow grew brighter, the sound of a great bronze bell began to resound throughout Victory Road, cleansing the air and leaving even the Pokémon in the cave feeling refreshed. The three in the clearing shielded their eyes from the bright glow.

As the ringing and the glow faded, they opened their eyes to two new things: the old, greened bronze bell now sitting within the shrine, and a green fairy-like Pokémon with a teardrop-shaped head and arms with tassel-like trails floating in the air above it.

Ramson helpfully chimed in, "Yep, that's a Celebi," as if he needed to. Celebi gave a wave in response.

Roma blinked and swallowed. This was the Pokémon that could time travel? It was... oddly cute.

"Celebi!" Trevor was the first to say anything important. "Thank you for answering us." He bowed deeply.

Celebi waved him off with a smile. It seemed perfectly happy to come by.

"Celebi, we, of course, didn't send for you for nothing." Celebi frowned and dropped its eyelids.

"I think it'd prefer something more direct," Roma said. "Can you help us keep the League from closing up?"

Celebi nodded heartily. Of course it could help! That was what Roma read, anyway.

"Great!" Ramson clapped his hands together. "Let's get goin', then, I guess. Now, do-"

Celebi shook its head, eyes closed and waving its arms.

"W-Huh?"

Celebi thought for a second, then pointed at Roma.

Roma pointed at himself. "You mean, I'm the one going back in time." It was a statement, not a question.

Trevor interjected, "So why can't we go back, too?"

Celebi pantomimed an old camera. Trevor made a confused face.

"It's the paparazzi, right?" Roma said. Celebi nodded.

"Ah, right," Trevor realized. "I can't go anywhere with the press hounding me. I certainly can't go incognito to fight terrorists."

"Well, that explains you," Ramson said. "Now, why am I on the no-fly list?"

"Beside the terrorist thing?" Trevor remarked.

"I could quit!"

Celebi shook its head and pointed at Ramson. "That's why," Roma translated. "If you quit your job, you'll get hounded, too."

Ramson raised his eyelids. "Crap, you're right. I can think of a few people who'd raise hell if I left. Argh, great. Why am I even here?"

Celebi tilted its head in sympathy. It pointed at Roma, then Ramson with its other hand, then put its hands together. "We'll meet up again?" Roma asked Celebi.

Celebi nodded, then looked back at Ramson and pantomimed a furtive whisper. "Oh, tell a secret to me," Roma said, "that I can tell him to trust me." Celebi nodded again.

Ramson looked at the two people there. After a hard second, he pulled his hair net off. Trevor took a half-step back, while Roma just raised his eyebrows. "It's, uh, hereditary. Dad's started when he was fifteen, too. The net's not standard uniform. I try to keep quiet about it."

Roma recovered and nodded. "I'm defintely going to remember that. Alright," Roma said, "I guess let's go." Celebi nodded and raised its arms.

"Wait!" Ramson called. Celebi flinched and stopped what it was doing. "How's this time travel work, anyway? There's plenty of ways it could screw him over."

Celebi's jaw slackened a little, as if it was about to say something, but it just reached its hand into a green portal it conjured up and pulled out a packet of paper, which it tossed at Ramson with an eye roll.

Ramson leafed through the papers and started saying everything he could figure out. "This whole thing's written in code. I can't make heads or tails of it." He turned the packet back to the front page. "Does the name Victor mean anything to either of you?"

"What's his last name?" Trevor asked.

"Mycelli, I think is how you say it."

"Huh, sounds like one of Heather's relatives." At Roma and Ramson confused looks, he supplied, "Heather Mycelli, the Grass-type Elite Four member."

Ramson flipped another page. "Ah, alright. Well, I guess this guy must have studied Celebi, 'r whatever. And that's about all I got - this thing's about a hundred pages thick, and I can't read a word of it." He chucked the sheaf at Celebi and it disappeared back into a portal without it lifting a finger.

Celebi rolled its eyes again, and looked at Roma. It smiled and offered its hand. Roma took it, barely hesitating. A larger portal appeared below the two and Roma immidiately fell into its green abyss as the world faded fast into bright green sparks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys remember that old theory about how the Starter Pokémon got picked? Like, the Water starter had to be amphibious, and the Fire-type was something from the zodiac? Kinda silly, wasn't it?
> 
> Next time: Grape.


	3. Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma returns to Portobel Town, and looks for a job with his friend Merla.

Roma fell onto the ground entangled in a vicious cloth trap. He fought to escape, pulling and twisting his way out. The room he found himself in was a pale blue, almost sky colored. The closet at the far end of it was mostly empty, having only a few similar outfits. Roma knew them all well - this was his room, after all.

"Okay," Roma muttered to himself, "I'm back in time. That's good. 'When am I?' is probably the next question I should ask." He looked in the closet and started changing out of his pajamas. "I packed these clothes before I left... So this is before that, then." Roma felt a wave of panic hit him, and he checked his belt line. Just as he'd expected, and feared, he didn't have any of his Pokéballs on him. Roma felt a little numb at the realization, and finished dressing quietly. 

He walked down the hallway and down the stairs, and brightened up almost immediately on seeing a young woman wearing a short purple dress sitting in a chair at his dining room table. "Merla! Good morning."

She smiled. "Morning, Roma. Sleep well?"

"Roma put his hand on his neck. "I don't know, I think I slept funny or something."

"Yeah, sounded like it. You fell out of bed, too?"

"Heh, yeah. Can't say getting tangled in my sheets helped me sleep, either."

"What are we gonna do with you, Roma?" Merla shook her head good-naturedly.

Roma sat down and started to eat breakfast. He looked around the dining room, at the strange arabesque wallpaper they had and at the centerpiece on the table (fake flowers, in case someone's allergic; Roma's mother was always thinking of people like that). He looked into the kitchen and saw the electric range on the counter, and the commemorative clock his mother had bought a few years ago.

"It's, uh, been a while, hasn't it?" Roma said.

Merla looked a little confused. "You mean, since the last time I was here? Yeah, I guess. A few weeks or so, but I did have a test."

"Oh, yeah. I know," Roma said. He did vaguely remember Merla coming over after a test of some kind... "How'd you do?"

"Got an A, just like I thought." Merla paused. "I thought I already told you."

"Y-You did, but I'm still a little out of it," Roma said.

"You hit your head or something when you fell out of bed?" Merla sounded a little concerned.

"No, I don't think so." Roma felt his head to make sure. Sure enough, no cracks.

"Well, I'm glad you haven't got any permanent damage." Merla smiled. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Roma thought about when exactly he was. If it was before Merla came to his house, and left again, and before his mother needed him out of the house for the fumigation, he could possibly check over at-

"I think we should go to the Professor's. She might have something for me."

"Oh! Alright, Roma. Sounds good." The two finished breakfast, and started walking to the local Professor's house.

"I don't actually know her that well," Merla said as they walked.

"I don't either, but I'm pretty sure what I'm looking for is there."

"What are you looking for?"

"...A job. I should probably have a savings account at my age, after all." It wasn't exactly a lie, and it seemed believable. Roma hoped Merla wouldn't notice.

She brought her hand to her face. "I guess I should, too. Maybe she'll have one for me, too?"

"She could," Roma said.

As they approached the red-bricked house, Merla pointed at some section that looked like a garage, with a many-wheeled truck in it. "Hey, look, that's a Pokémon truck."

"How can you tell?"

"It's easiest if you look at the wheels. The way they're designed to absorb shocks helps make Pokémon more comfortable in transit."

Roma looked, but from where he was, he couldn't tell anything different about the tires. "I'll... have to take your word for it."

Roma and Merla walked up to the door, and Roma rang the bell. After a few minutes' wait, a woman wearing a white coat answered the door. "Hello?"

"I'd like to inquire about a job," Roma said.

The woman raised her eyebrows. "Is that so? Are you both here for a job?"

Merla straightened and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'd like a position, as well, if you'll have me."

The professor looked off to the side. "Hm. I could have something. Please, come in," she said as she opened the door. "Follow me to the parlor."

Roma and Merla settled themselves in two red chairs. As they did, the professor handed each of them a tea cup and poured some tea into them. "Now, the job," she said as she herself sat down in the only blue chair in the room. "Why do you think I should hire you?"

Merla began, "Yes, ma'am. I believe, with the things I know about... Pokémon, I would be a good fit for a lot of research tasks."

The professor nodded. "I see. Such as?"

"She knows you just got some Pokémon in," Roma said. "She saw the truck outside. Apparently, she could tell from just the tires."

"Well, not just the tires," Merla said. "It's a little more complicated than that."

The professor nodded. "That's impressive. How much do you know about Pokémon themselves?"

"A lot, ma'am. I'm certain I could help take care of a variety of Pokémon."

"...I see. That gives me your skills and reasons." She turned to Roma. "And what about you?"

"I'd like to think I'm good with Pokémon. I'm a lot more comfortable around them than people, anyway."

The professor thought for a moment. She smiled. "I believe I've got something that you both can do. Follow me, please?" She stood and started walking down a hallway. "I've been looking for some help," she said, "with collecting information about Pokémon. I was going to put an ad in a paper, but if I've got two able bodied people here, I can't possibly turn them down." She descended the stairs at the end of the hallway.

Merla's face suddenly took an odd turn. "Uh, Roma," she whispered, "what exactly is the professor's name?"

Roma thought for a second, then said, "Pardon me, but I feel like I've heard your name before, professor."

The professor stopped in front of a door. "Hm? You mean my maiden name, or my husband's?"

"Your husband's, I g- er, believe."

"It's Mycelli," she said with a smile. "Professor Belledonna Mycelli."

Roma blinked. "As in, Heather Mycelli, the member of the Elite Four?" The one related to Victor Mycelli, Roma reminded himself.

"Yes, she's my niece. By marriage, but I'm happy to be her- Well, we're getting off track," she said, shaking her head. "Behind this door is something I believe you'll both enjoy." She opened the door, and Roma and Merla walked into the half-hay-lined room. "Ah, while it's on my mind, I should go get something else. Don't go anywhere, alright?" Professor Mycelli left them in the room with the three Pokémon within.

"What do you think they are?" Merla asked as Mycelli left.

"If I had to guess, the professor is going to lend us these Pokémon for our work." Roma walked to the gate to the pen. "Want to go in?"

"W-what? Roma, we should probably wait until the professor gets back, at least."

"Nah, these guys're all pretty docile," he said flippantly. He, of course, knew all of their demeanors - he'd chosen one as his first Pokémon, after all.

"Right, I forgot how good you are with Pokémon." Merla hesitantly nodded. "Alright, then. I guess it'll be okay." Roma undid the latch and walked into the pen, and Merla followed closely behind.

The Grass-type was a stout little creature, with whitish fur on its back fading to a light green at its two-toed hooves. It had a tuft of fur at its backside, as white as snow. Its head was triangular in shape, with two floppy ears off its side and two short horns spiralling straight into the air atop its head. It seemed like it was tired from the trip, and had tucked itself into a bush-shaped ball.

The crayon-blue Water-type was an odd creature to look at, with its angular and reptilian appearance contrasted by the fluffy, bright-yellow feathers atop its raptorian head. They made the Pokémon look like it was wearing a ceremonial headdress. An indigo, ridged spine ran along its back to where its tail met the rest of its body. It was stretching its large and powerful legs and its stubby arms, as it had likely felt cramped the whole way there.

The Fire-type Pokémon was the only one who came to see the newcomers to the pen, taking a break from turning the hay over. It had orange tawny fur with red going in trails down its sides in short bursts. It had no antlers, as was common for its species, and its fangs were sharp, but small. It also had cloven hooves, but its legs were built for long strides, unlike the Grass-type's. It would probably be the cutest there, if that were something Roma were keeping track of. The Pokémon stared up at the two humans that showed up in the hay place it was brought to. It seemed like it wanted to know who they were.

"Oh, uh, hello, little... guy?" Merla turned to Roma. "How can you tell their genders apart?"

"For these guys, it'll be easy. The Pokégear'll sex them for us."

"Uh, what?" Merla blinked in confusion.

"You know, it'll be able to tell a Pokémon's gender better than we can."

Merla stared. "Then say that, Roma." She turned back to the Fire-type, and bent down to it. "Uh, hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Merla." She held her palm out. It sniffed a bit at it, and seemed like it was OK with the scent. It walked off to a corner and went back to tossing hay around.

"So, what do you think?" Roma asked.

"I don't know. They all seem pretty nice, but I've got to consider a few things first."

"Like what?"

"Type, battle style, Nature... There's a lot that goes into this kind of decision, Roma."

"Well, I know that Spinotsumi is good at attacking," Roma offered.

"You know all their names?" Merla turned her hand in the air. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"It kinda slipped my mind, I guess," Roma said, putting his hand behind his head, "but better late then never." He pointed at the reptilian Water-type. "That's Spinotsumi, like I said. It's good at attacking."

"Physically, or with ranged attacks?" Merla asked.

"Uh, both, I think? I don't really-" Roma stopped himself from finishing that statement. "Well, anyway, that's Firefawn." He pointed at the Fire-type. "It's good at attacking at range."

"Special attacking..." Merla nodded. "I can see that. It seems very intelligent."

"I couldn't tell you," Roma said. "The one curled up in a bush over there is Laurelus. It's solid, with good strength and tough hide."

"A physical-oriented fighter, then."

"I guess," Roma said. "So, does that make things any easier?"

"Hm, sort of. I've got to consider a few other things, though. We'll probably get one each, so this is important to think through."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. These guys gave me a tough choice." Roma smiled wide. "I got it figured out, though."

"Wait, you already picked one?"

"I've got an idea of who I'll pick, yeah."

"Really?" Merla covered her mouth in thought. "Well," she said, "I wouldn't want to stand in between you and your first choice. It might help me pick, too."

Roma smiled again. "Thanks, Merla. I really appreciate it. I guess the question now is-"

"What the hell are you doing in there?!" Professor Mycelli stood in the doorway, gripping two Pokéballs in one of her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice thing about making a (semi-)original story is that I can make jokes and references that would be out of place in more ironclad-canon-adjacent stories. For example, Merla's name is actually a play on Merlot grapes, like Roma's is a play on the tomato of the same name.
> 
> I can also make poor-taste references to Harry Potter fanfiction. Give-and-take, really.
> 
> Next time: VS. Rival


	4. Call Me In the Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma and Merla recieve their starters, and battle.

"What on earth were you two thinking?!" the professor chided the duo. "I've got no idea what these Pokémon are like! You put yourself in a lot of danger!"

Roma and Merla stood outside the cage, and were in the middle of a scolding. Merla's head hung low, but Roma seemed nonplussed at most.

"If you had gotten yourselves hurt, what could I have done?! I only just know first-aid. It's dangerous to be around wild Pokémon!"

"T-they were wild?" Merla asked.

"Yes," Professor Mycelli said, "they are. That's why I'm giving you Pokéballs, for you to use to catch them." She held out a ball for each of them. A little calmer, she said, "At least you didn't get hurt. But please, be more careful in the future." To herself, she remarked these two would be the cause of a good deal of headaches, wouldn't they?

"I'm sorry, Professor," Roma said. "Please don't hold this against Merla. It's my fault. I got excited, and went into the pen first."

Despite herself, she smiled. "It's alright. Let's not play the blame game. It happened, and you aren't hurt. Let's just let it behind us. What did you think of them?"

"I know who I like," Roma said almost immediately.

"I'll pick after him, if that's alright."

Professor Mycelli nodded. "That sounds fine. Mr. Pomadoro, which Pokémon would you like?"

Roma looked into the pen for his choice. There was really only one choice. "I'd like her, the Laurelus, please," he said with finality. She was his first, after all.

The professor blinked. "'Her'? I'm impressed, Mr. Pomadoro. Most people can't tell the gender of a Pokémon that easily."

Roma shrugged sheepishly. "I-I guess I just got lucky." That was a pretty bad slip-up, he thought.

"Very lucky," she answered. "All three of these Pokémon have a highly-male gender ratio. That Laurelus is the only female of the bunch."

"Really?" Merla said. Roma saw Merla's gears turning.

"Yes, Ms..."

"Oh, Traub. Merla Traub," she said. "I think that I'd like the, erm, Fire-type, Firefawn, I think Roma called it?"

"I think we can manage that." Professor Mycelli turned to Roma, saying, "I didn't realize you had prior knowledge of both of them, Mr. Pomadoro." Her words were lost on him, though, as he seemed to be in a state of bewilderment.

"Roma!" Merla shook him, and it brought him out of his reverie. "Jeez, you okay? You don't normally do that."

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Roma shook his head. "I just didn't sleep well, you know."

"I'm glad it isn't something more serious," Professor Mycelli said. "Now, if you'll follow me, I've got something else I'll be giving you."

As they walked back up the hallway, Merla said in a quiet voice, "Roma, what's really wrong? I know how you act when you're sleep-deprived, and that wasn't it."

Roma hesitated. What exactly was he supposed to say? "Oh, it's nothing, Merla. You just didn't pick Spinotsumi like you did last time. Y'know, the timeline that didn't actually exist anymore? That you don't remember?" That'd go over about as well as saying he saw the moon fall on him, or something.

"I, uh, don't think it's that important," he said aloud. Merla made an unamused face at that, but the professor started talking before she could press further.

"So, you'll both be helping me collect data on Pokémon found in this region." She opened a door into a chilly room with large machines in it. "Are you both familiar with what a Pokédex is?"

"I am," Merla answered. "They're devices that record data on a Pokémon's species after scanning them."

"Exactly. Now, the Pokédexes I'm giving you aren't dedicated machines, like is common in other regions. I'll instead be upgrading your Pokégears with the functions. This means you won't be able to collect complete data on a Pokémon without catching it and letting it interface with your Pokéball."

"They'll be easier to carry, though." Merla looked at Roma and smiled. "After all, we've already got two Pokégears."

"Exactly." The professor disappeared behind a machine and continued talking. "You'll probably be heading around the region collecting data, so I don't have a problem if you try other things, like Gyms or Contests, along the way. I'll be here, studying the data the Pokédexes will return to me. I'll also be taking care of any Pokémon you decide to send back to me."

"And they'll be in good hands?" Roma asked.

"You don't have to worry about that," Professor Mycelli said as she emerged holding two thumb drives. "I've got a degree in Pokémon biology. I'm well-equipped to handle them."

Roma nodded. He already knew that, but if he didn't make sure, he'd worry anyway.

"If you two could put these into your Pokégears, the program will download." Roma took one drive and inserted it. After around a minute, a new application icon showed up on his screen, labeled "Pokédex". "I'm glad it worked," Professor Mycelli said, taking the drives back. "This is the first time it's being tested on a live model. If something happens, call the support line - or if you can't find it, me."

"Thank you very much," Merla said. "Also, thank you for giving us the job."

"Certainly," she said. "Now, let's go and get your first Pokémon and enter them in the Pokédex." They headed back down the hallway, and into the pen, with the professor watching this time.

"Now, a Pokémon isn't just going to go along with you," she said. "It's only if your personalities mesh that you'll be able to connect with them. Don't try to force a bond, though - just let it happen."

Roma walked over to his choice and petted her snowy-colored top. She slowly uncurled and blinked her squared-pupiled eyes at him. She yawned. "Hey, Snowcap," he said quietly. "It's great seeing you again. You probably don't remember, but that's alright." Laurelus looked at him, a little confused. "I want to ask you to come with me on a trip. Would you like to?" She nodded and smiled. He might have been a little odd, but whoever he was, he seemed nice. "Great," Roma said, as he started tearing up and embraced her.

Merla, meanwhile, walked over to the Firefawn, still overturning the hay around him. "Hello, Firefawn," she said. He turned toward her. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to accompany me across the region?" He turned his head, seeming to ask for more information. "I'd be helping discover things about Pokémon that people don't know right now. What do you think?" After a few seconds, he nodded. Merla smiled. "Thank you." She pulled out her Pokéball and tapped it on his head. In an instant, the Firefawn was surrounded by a white light, and shortly after was sucked into the opened capsule. It shook a few times, but settled fairly quickly.

Roma dried his eyes, and did likewise, taking his Pokéball and tapping it on his Laurelus's back. Her ball also took very little time to finish shaking.

"I'm impressed, you two. Not many people can get such a natural bond with their Pokémon."

"I guess I just appealed to him," Merla said.

"You probably did," Roma said, drying his eyes a little more. "He seems like a really curious guy. If I were him, and someone just said I could help people learn, I'd go for it in a heartbeat."

"Y-you got all that just from seeing him toss some hay around." Merla chuckled. "Roma, you're really something else."

"Alright, then," Professor Mycelli said. "I'm glad your first catches went so well. Now, do you know how to connect your Pokéballs to the Pokégear?"

"Yes, ma'am," they both said. They each pressed the button on the Pokéball, held it for a second, and released it. The Pokégears detected the signal they gave off and brought up the Pokédex automatically.

"Laurelus, the Mountain Laurel Pokémon," Roma read. "Frost grows on its back regardless of temperature. It's at home in the cold."

"Firefawn, the Fire Deer Pokémon," Merla read. "Its knees are weak. It launches bursts to ward off opprotunists."

"I'm glad it worked," Professor Mycelli said. "Now, I'll go check to make sure that saved on the servers, and you two can be on your way! You can get your Pokéballs by the entrance - I think three would be a good number to start. Don't try to rush, though - you two don't have to catch every Pokémon in the region, and I don't have the space for that, besides."

On their way back, Merla struck up a conversation. "Hey, Roma. So, why did you space out back there?"

"Uh, well, I'd... assumed you'd pick Spinotsumi. That was all."

"Really?" Merla thought for a second. "It is true that a Water-type would be better against more Gyms, and I'd like to get the best chances I can, there." She turned her head back to Roma. "But, it's also true that I'd be weak against your Laurelus. I thought you were more important." She smiled warmly.

"That's a great compliment, coming from you." 

Just then, something caught Merla's eye. "Oh, that's a battleground!" Her eyes lit up as she said it. "What do you think, Roma? Want a quick battle?"

Roma smiled, and said, "Sure. I'd like to see how you and your Firefawn work together."

"Alright, Merla," Roma said when they'd taken their positions on opposite sides of a chalk circle drawn in the grass, "we'll just be using one Pokémon, Single-Battle style. No items, or switching. Sound alright?"

"Do we really need to say all that, Roma? We've only got one Pokémon each."

"I mean, it is good practice." It was also a force of habit.

"I suppose so. Okay, then. Who should send out their Pokémon first?"

"Usually, you would, but I can do it this time." Roma pulled his Laurelus's Pokéball from his belt loop and with a "Snowcap, let's do this!", she emerged from it in a flash of white light.

"Snowcap?" Merla asked.

"Yeah. I didn't think Yuki really worked, and she doesn't like the name Snowball." At this, the Laurelus turned toward Roma with a dark expression. "Woah, hey, I said your nickname's Snowcap, don't worry," he said, raising his hands defensively. She snorted. He'd learned his lesson the third time he slipped up on that. That reminded him, had his voice gone back down that semitone yet?

Merla looked at her own Pokéball, then called out, "Okay, go, Curio!" The Firefawn emerged from his ball and took a second to look around at where he now he found himself. The air was fairly calm, and the sun was clearly visible against the sky. By his estimate, it was about an hour since he was brought into that hay-lined pen. He looked at who seemed to be his opponent, and it was the Laurelus and her person.

"Curio, huh? It works," Roma said.

"Thanks. Now if I remember right... Curio, use Burst!" At her command, Curio opened his mouth and inhaled, then released a glowing white pulse of energy.

"Snowcap, dodge left!" Like he remembered, Snowcap jumped to the left with room to spare, the Burst impacting the ground where she was. "Use Tackle!" Snowcap pushed off the ground with her leftover momentum in a burst of dull-gray light and hopped into Curio, sending the both of them tumbling to the ground.

Curio stumbled on his way up, legs wobbling. Merla thought he'd probably be able to take maybe one more attack, if that. "In other words," she thought, "this next attack has to count." She pulled her Pokégear out and looked at Curio's indexed moves.

Roma felt a sharp twinge of panic rush through him, and also a strong pulse of déjà vu. He already knew what Curio's other moves were, and when, not if, Merla found it out, that could spell danger for Snowcap. Thankfully, he'd been turning this kind of thing around in his head for a while. "Snowcap, shake and use Leafage! Let the leaves pile up!" Snowcap, a little bemused, did just that, making glowing green leaves from her hair and letting them fall in a small pile around her feet.

"Alright, Curio," Merla said, "use Ember!" Curio inhaled again, and blew a shotgun blast of hot ash from his mouth.

"Turn and kick, Snowcap!" Snowcap whirled in place and gave a strong kick into the air, sending the leaves at her feet flying. They collided with the Ember and went up in smoke, without a single particle getting through. "Great, now Tackle!" Snowcap turned back around and charged into Curio, knocking him over again.

"Curio!" He tried to get up, pushed as hard as his legs could, but gave out just too soon, collapsing to the ground.

"Alright, I think that's it," Roma said. "I can't let Curio battle any more. He can't stay up."

"I guess you're right." Merla frowned. "I was hoping he could manage it, but his knees are too weak."

"Something you'll work around, I know. Come on, let's get back to my house, so my mom can treat him."

"He doesn't seem too beaten up," Roma's mother said. "I'd say he'll be fine after a short rest." She smiled happily. "So, you've both decided to do the Gym challenge while you help the professor. That's great! I'm so proud of you both."

"Th-thanks, Ms. Pomadoro. I appreciate it." Merla blushed.

"Thanks, Mom. I'm definitely going to do my best. Not just for me, but for Snowcap, too."

"Wow, Roma, you've gotten really close to her, haven't you?" Merla said. "I don't think I've ever seen you get so close to any Pokémon so fast."

"Well, we clicked. I'm glad she was quick enough on her feet to do that Leaf Shield."

"Leaf Shield..." Merla muttered. A little louder, she said, "That really was some quick thinking back there. I'll have to remember that you can do that next time we battle."

Roma nodded. "Alright, well, I'm going to go pack. You get your stuff ready, too. We'll head out as soon as Curio can walk." With a nod from Merla, they headed for their respective rooms.

Roma stood in his room, looking around at it for what felt like the last time. It'd be a long while before he came back again. He walked over to his closet and packed a few sets of clothes. While he was at it, he picked up his blanket from the floor to make his bed before he left. That was his intention, anyway, but when a card fell from it, Trevor's business card, making his bed dropped out of Roma's mind. "Right, I should give him a call." Roma pulled out his Pokégear and dialled the number on it.

"I'm sorry," the recording said, "you've called me at an hour when I'm not in the office. If you could leave a message, I'll get-"

Roma hung up. Of course he wasn't in the office, he thought as he inspected the card more closely. "Office Hours, 12-7 PM", it said. It definitely wasn't that late. "Great," he thought. "Now how am I supposed to call him?" Roma tossed the card back onto the ground, or tried to, anyway. It twirled in the air on the way down, and Roma spotted some writing on its back. He snatched it from the air and read it. "This is my personal number," it said, above another phone number. "I wake up late, so please call sparingly."

Roma called the new number, and after a few rings, he heard a sleepy "Hello?" at the other end. "Who is this?"

"Trevor Dunnock?"

"Yes. Who is calling?"

"This is Roma Pomadoro. You probably don't know me."

A pause. "Then how do you have this number?" Trevor said incredulously.

"You gave it to me."

"You just said I didn't know you. Why did I give you my personal number? When did I give you my personal number?"

"You gave it to me so I could talk to you, probably. As for when, that was around ten-thirty in the morning, at the Pokémon League."

"What day?"

"I don't know. That's not important, though. I need you to listen to me."

Trevor paused. "What are you about to tell me? That you're my kid from the future?"

"W- How'd you guess I'm from the future?"

He paused again. "Alright, I'm pretty sure this is a crank call. I'm hanging up."

"Wait, seriously!" But it was no use. Roma's words were answered by a dial tone. Roma took a breath, and redialled the number, muttering about some people. "I know about the Celebi Shrine." No point beating around the bush, clearly.

Trevor started, then stopped. "What are you talking about?"

"The shrine behind the magic rock on Victory Road, the one that reverses age as you get closer to it. It's a shrine to Celebi, a time-travelling Legendary Pokémon. We thought it could be Grass-Psychic.

"I came back in time because I need to get into the Pokémon League, and you're my best shot."

"Are you saying you want special permissions to get in?" Trevor asked. "I can't do that. Your story-"

"No, I need to get onto the grounds. The seige gate on the castle was closed off when you went on a morning walk, and you hadn't brought any Pokémon with you."

Trevor took another pause. "I'm... not sure how much of your story is true. That said, I guess I've got an obligation to hear you out. Where are you?"

"I'm in Portobel, southwest of Perigold."

"I'll take a helicopter and meet you-"

"No, you can't do that."

"Why not?"

"You'll get the press following you. We can't work together if they're following us."

Trevor scoffed. "You're right. We'll have to meet somewhere else, somewhere public." He thought. "We'll meet at the Mastuke Department Store, a week from now."

"I can't make it there that fast. The Perike Bridge is about to be closed for maintenance, and then the workers are going to go on strike."

"Wh-seriously?" Trevor sighed wearily. "Are you-" He sighed again.

"Besides, I've got to head north from Perigold anyway. There's a Gym in Morchella, too."

"This is the worst morning I've had in weeks," Trevor muttered. "Fine, then. Call me when you're a day away from Matsuke, and I'll meet you on top of the department store at noon in its restaurant. Can you do that?"

"That'll have to work. I'll see you then."

"Alright, then. Goodbye," Trevor said, and hung up without another word.

Roma stared at his Pokégear, then put it away. He finished packing his bag and went downstairs.

Merla was sitting on the couch in the living room, and smiled when Roma walked in. "Hey, got everything you need?" she said.

"Pretty much. I'll have to buy some stuff once we get to Perigold, but I'm good for now."

"Great. So, who were you talking to up there?"

"Huh? Oh, I just had to call someone. We're going to meet in Matsuke."

"Oh, is it like a date?"

"No, nothing like that. He and I've just got something to talk about."

"Something that you can't talk to me about?" Merla smiled. "Any way I can help?"

"Not really," Roma said uneasily. "It's fine, Merla. I can handle it on my own. Just make sure you stay safe, alright?"

"Huh? Yeah... alright, Roma." Merla stood up. "But if there is something you need my help with, I'm willing to."

"That means a lot, Merla. Thank you. How's Curio?"

"He's better. Your mother's still a great nurse. She even gave me a few leftover Potions to use." She held out the three spray bottle canisters.

"Good, we'll need them."

Roma's mother gave her son a hug as he walked out the door. "I'd always figured you'd leave with a Pokémon, Roma. Don't get in over head, okay? Remember, you can always come back home if you need to."

"Thanks, Mom. I will." And with that, Merla and Roma took their first steps toward Bello Road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the two of them are finally heading out of Portobel Town, I suppose now's as good a time as any to post a map. https://imgur.com/a/ypcv6  
> Portobel's in the lower-left corner.
> 
> I actually made the town layout first, then built geography to fit it. That being the case, Agricales doesn't actually match geographically to any location, or if it does, it's purely coincidental.
> 
> Next time: Route 1


	5. A Swift Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merla catches her first Pokémon, and the duo start making promises.

"Alright, it's about a day and a half from here to Perigold Town, if I remember right," Roma said. They'd walked far enough out of town for the houses to have faded from the horizon. "We'll find an inn around this evening, so we'll call that today's goal."

"Sounds good," Merla said. "It gives us some extra time, too, in case we run into trouble. Or," she said, "if we need to talk."

Roma shook his head, as if confused. "What do we have to talk about, Merla?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess, for starters, how did you think of that technique on the fly? You're clever, but you don't really seem like the tactical person who would come up with that."

That's because he wasn't, he thought. Merla had given him the idea, while he stayed at her house and needed a way to beat the Perigold Gym. Aloud, he said, "Well, it just came to me, I guess. Maybe some of your smarts leached off," he laughed.

"Hm. It's possible that you were picturing what I would in that situation. Does that sound a little familiar?"

"I mean, I guess," he said with rising inflection. "It's a bit of a blur, honestly. A lot of battles are."

"True," she said. "They do get heated. We're both novices, too, so being accurate is difficult." She slipped into mumbling about something, but Roma didn't really understand what it was. It was a little easier to just let her work whatever it was out. That way, she wouldn't lose sleep over it.

The trees lining the road the two were taking were a deep green, and their needles left the route smelling a little antiseptic, their smell escaping as they degraded beneath Roma's feet. He wasn't much of a stranger to antiseptic smells (the potions had a potent smell, to be sure), so it didn't bother him so much. Merla, on the other hand, was getting the short straw, if her sniffling was any indication.

A sharp sneeze brought her out of her reverie. "Urgh, you'd think I'd be used to walking down this way by now."

"I'm still pretty sure you're allergic. It's just not really bad."

"If I was, then it would stop when I took allergy medicine, but- Ah!" She stopped. "Crap, we didn't get any medicine!"

"I've got the first-aid kit."

"No, Pokémon medicine! We've got Potions, but we'll need more than just that if we get into a fight. What happens if we come across something that shoots poison, or even fire? I'm covered for that, but your Laurelus-"

"Snowcap's really weak to fire," Roma said. Really weak...

_"Snowcap, no!" Roma held the goat in his arms. Her eyes were bleary, and a disgusting smell filled the air. "No, you've got to make it through this! Snowcap!"_

"Roma!" Merla gave him a little shove. "Hey, you OK? You spaced out on me again."

"Uh, yeah," he said, shaking his head to clear it. "I-I'm fine. Just got... a little carried away by a thought. You're right - we'll need status medicine."

"If we even had some berries, that would be a good start. Where's a good place to look, though?" Merla scanned the landscape, and Roma did the same.

"Ah, over there!" He pointed at a few small trees with small fruits hanging from their branches. "Those look like berry trees!"

"Seem pretty regularly spaced, though," Merla said. Roma took off at a jog toward them, while Merla hung back. They were really regularly spaced, now that she looked at them. Almost like someone had... "Ah, Roma, wait!" She went after him.

As she got to him, Roma had already pulled a few berries from the branches. "Merla, what do you think I should get next?" He looked at the berries in his hand. "Then again, I'm not sure what these'll do. Think you can help?"

"Roma, I think we should probably get out of here. I think these fields belong to someone."

"They mos' certainly do!" crowed a woman emerging from a shed and holding a watering can.

"A-ah, Mrs. Dooley!" Roma said. "I, uh, didn't realize these were yours."

"They are, young man!" she said with her sharp accent. "You'd do better to listen to your friend afore runnin' off! Now, I know I told your mum to tell you these were my fields, and yet you've let it slip from your 'ead, sure enough!"

"I'm very sorry, Ms. Dooley," Merla said. "I was a little slow to figure it out."

"Aoh, it ain't your fault, dear. It was Roma what went off half-pulled, wannit? Why're you two trying to take those berries, anyhow?"

"W-we, uh, needed medicine," Roma said. "For our Pokémon, in case we ran across something."

The woman pursed her lips for a moment, then slackened her shoulders. "Well, I s'pose I can't fault you for doin' that. Think a little first next time, Mr. Pomadoro, and we'll be golden. You can pay for the berries, and be on your way, right enough. This way." She turned and motioned for the two to follow her into the shed, where she had a old cash register on top of an overturned crate. "Now, if you don't mind, Freddy will ring you up, and I'll be in the back."

Freddy, her husband, said, "Well I'm glad you two found what you were looking for." He leaned in close, and said, "Maybe next time, let Liza know you'll be browsing before you do it. Does wonders for her temper, and gets you her expertise, to boot."

"Aoh! If it ain't one thing, it's another!" Liza said, charging back out the front door. "Freddy, get the chaser!"

"Right," he said, grabbing a stick behind the counter. "Sorry, we'll have to take a second. Won't be long, a Pokémon's just gotten into the patch." He went out the door in turn, brandishing the "chaser". Roma and Merla exchanged a glance, then followed.

The scene that greeted them when they stepped out, two adults waving a single stick around to steer a crested, yellow bird from the berry patch, struck Roma as a little ridiculous. "Merla, what's our plan?"

"Knock it out the sky. Then, either send it off, or catch it."

"Catch it, huh? Alright. It looks like I won't be of much help, then. Snowcap's a close-range fighter."

"I remember," she said. "In that case, go, Curio!" He emerged from the Pokéball she threw in a flash of white light. "Use Burst on that bird!" Curio inhaled and fired at the yellow-crested bird. It broke from the two humans and flipped around the blast. It stared at the deer that had fired at it, and zoomed in for a battle. It whirled around Curio and dug into his side in a Tackle attack.

"Curio, use Ember!" He fired a blast of hot ash at the bird, knocking it to the ground. It bounced up and took back to the sky. It bit down hard on something inside its mouth, and swallowed. "It got a berry?"

"It must have picked something from the trees," Roma said. "What do you think it was?"

The bird shook, and charged in with renewed vigor, aiming to strike Curio with its glowing beak. "Looks like it was an Oran Berry," Merla muttered. "Curio, Burst again!" Curio inhaled and fired a blast of energy, and the bird couldn't get out of the way in time, getting grazed by it. It struck Curio's chin as it flew up into the air, knocking him back. "Ah, Curio. You alright?" Curio got up on his shaky legs and nodded. "Good. Next, we try this," he said. "Burst above it!" Curio aimed high with his blast, sending the bird down close to the ground. Without a second to spare, Merla threw a Pokéball at it, and it collided with the bird's head.

A burst of light engulfed the bird as it was brought into the ball, and the ball's hinges snapped shut as it fell to the ground. The ball shook once, then again, and a third time, and finally clicked.

"I... I caught it."

"Congrats, Merla. How's it feel to catch your first Pokémon?"

"I caught it," she said, her face breaking into a grin. "I caught it! Roma, I caught it!" She wrapped her arms around him warmly.

"Yeah, you did. Great job, Merla. If you let me go, you can check it out."

"Oh, right," she said, breaking the hug, "yeah, sorry about that. Got a little excited." She blushed and picked up the Pokéball. "Alright, let's see what Pokémon you are." She set the Pokéball to her Pokégear, and read the entry in the Pokédex aloud. "Procstrapi," it said, "the Swift Pokémon. An Electric- and Flying-type Pokémon. This Pokémon has a practiced eye it picked up from human sharpshooters."

"Sounds like it's pretty fast," Roma said. "What's yours like?"

Merla pulled up the bird's statistics. "He's got a Hasty Nature, and is 'quick to flee'."

"What's that mean?"

"He's fast, but frail, and his best aspect is his speed. I think it's a good affinity, too. Seems suited to hit-and-run tactics."

"I'll have to take your word for it. This stuff kinda escapes me."

"Awright," Liza said. "I think that's more'n settled our bill. I'll be glad to let you two go with the berries you've gotten. Stay safe, dears!"

"Thank you, Ms. Dooley," Merla said as they left.

They'd made it to the property line when someone, Freddy, it turned out, called after them. "I, uh, I don't mean to be rude, but I was hoping you two could help us out."

"With what?" Roma asked.

"Well, it's only that Liza... She's been having trouble getting a good variety of berries as of late. Her normal channels have dried up. If you find someone who could be willing to talk to us about striking up a business arrangement, could you put in a good word for us?"

"If we find anyone, we'll point them your way," Merla said. "Right, Roma?" she added with a nudge.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, we might not, but if we meet someone, sure."

"Guess that's all I can ask for," Freddy said. "Here - I got these for you to say thanks again. This should put you in a good spot, and I needed an excuse to talk to you, besides." He handed Merla a few more berries in a pouch. "See you around." He turned and walked back.

"Well, that was nice of him," Merla said.

"Eh, he wants us to do something for him," Roma said. "Isn't that waht you do?" He shrugged. "C'mon, let's go. We've still got a long walk."

And walk they did, for three or so hours. In the early afternoon, they sat under a shady tree for a late lunch.

Roma brought out Snowcap with an "Alright, Snowcap!", and started going through her fur with a chunky brush. He made cooing noises at her, and she seemed to like the attention.

"Um, Roma," Merla said, mouth full of rice, "what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm grooming Snowcap. You know that old brush I had in my room-"

"No, I mean, what's with the baby talk? Isn't she... y'know, a little old for that?"

"No, she likes it a lot. Besides, it's nice to talk to your Pokémon without it being a call during a battle. You should try it with Curio."

"O...kay." She pulled out Curio's Pokéball and tossed it into the air.

Curio looked around, at the tree he found himself under, at Snowcap, and at her trainer, Roma, wasn't it? He turned to his trainer, who started petting him. "U-uh, hey, Curio. You, uh, you're doing alright?" Curio took a step away and gave her a look that she didn't need Roma to tell her meant, "What the hell are you doing?"

Roma gave a half-sigh, half-laugh. "No, Merla. I didn't mean you should start getting cuddly with him. I know neither of you are like that. Just try talking to him for now. You don't need to do anything else."

Merla felt a little nonplussed. "So, what should I talk to him about?"

"Anything. He'll let you know what he wants to talk about. It's trial-and-error."

"Okay..." She knelt down to Curio. "So, what do you think about... our new team member?" Curio turned his head up, then nodded neutrally. "I, uh, take it you approve?" Curio nodded, a little more firmly this time.

They continued in this vein for some time, and eventually the two-and-two of them started walking again. As the shadows grew longer on the ground, a wooden building started growing from the horizon. As they got closer, Roma saw the sign, an affair with a fish looking at a baited hook, had on it "The Fishing Hook Inn".

"Well, looks like we're here," Roma said. Roma took out Snowcap's Pokéball and returned her to it. Merla did the same. They both already knew the inn didn't allow Pokémon inside.

"Why, hello, you two!" called an old man in a fishing vest with a short, gray beard sitting on the porch. "You're out together?"

"Ah, hello, Mr. Sam!" Merla said. "No, we're just heading to Perigold Town."

"Oh, I see. You'll be staying here tonight, then? I'll tell my son-in-law to make extra tonight. What brings you out?"

"We've got a job, collecting data on Pokémon. We're also planning on taking on the Pokémon League."

"Oh, issat so? Well, if you're going to be doin' that, you should tell my son-in-law to get a couple rods. It'll go on my tab, don't worry."

"Oh, thank you. Are you sure?"

"Don't think anything of it. I'm in a good mood today. I got a good haul."

"Oh? What did you get?"

"I'll check in," Roma said as he walked into the building.

"Hello, and welcome to the Fishing Hook," said the man at the counter. "How can I help you?"

"I'm traveling, and I'd like a room for the night."

"Yes, sir. How many will you be staying with?"

"One."

Merla walked in after the sign-in was done. "Hey, everything go alright?"

"You've got to sign the registry, but yeah," Roma said. "We're in Room 107, and dinner's in fifteen."

"Alright- wait, 'we?'"

"Yeah. I figured that'd be cheaper than getting two rooms, and it's a double bed room."

"W-well, I guess that's alright." Merla signed the book, and the two headed upstairs to put down their things.

At the dinner table, Sam said, "Oh, I tell you, I am glad that we're still gettin' good catches these days."

"It can't be helped, pops," his son-in-law said from the kitchen. "I'm sorry I can't figure out those catalogs, but all that terminology goes right over my head."

"Ain't your fault, Redd. My eyesight's been goin' for years, and I was just too stubborn to say so. At least I'm still good with these." He gestured to the wall, where a few sticks with string were leaning. "Gets us a nice dinner, if nothing else."

"Speaking of that, it's ready!" Redd walked out with a set of baked filets, steaming with a Nomel-suffused scent. "Sorry for the wait. We've got some sides, too; I'll get them, and then we can start." He walked back into the kitchen.

"Why can't you find someone who knows this stuff?" Roma asked.

"My daughter's the only one 'round here that can keep up with me, and she's over in Perigold raising the grandkid. Visits often, but it ain't like I can call her up anytime."

"I still say Snap'll do it if you ask," Redd said, holding a dish of broccoli, and one of carrots. "She loves you, pops."

"I ain't too selfish as to get between you two. You never see each other."

Redd sighed. "Alright, pops, if you're sure, I won't push it further. Let's eat, alright?"

With an echo from everyone else, they tore into the fish.

As Roma and Merla headed back to their room, Merla said, "Ah, I can't remember the last time I had fish that good!"

"It wasn't the worst thing I've ever eaten," Roma replied.

Merla stopped short of the threshold. "Hey, yeah, that's right. You don't like fish. So, why'd you eat it?"

"Well, it's not like food'll be easy to come by on the road. I've got to take what I can get. Besides, the Nomel covered the flavor up well enough."

"Okay... I guess that does make sense. At least my hangup's easy to avoid, right?"

"Not likely to find garlic in camping supplies, I guess."

"Right." They stepped into the room, and Merla headed into the bathroom with an "I'm going to take a shower."

Roma sat on his bed and took a minute to think. Today'd been a wild ride, that was for sure. What were his plans for the future? How exactly was he going to find out who those people were, and how would he stop them? Those questions turning in his mind, Roma laid down and drifted to sleep.

A green flash lit up the room soon after, and a thumb drive was on the bedside table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liza Dooley's name comes from Eliza Doolittle, the principal character of the play Pygmalion. Most people are more familiar with the musical adaptation, My Fair Lady, though. If you haven't seen it, it's pretty good, and it's the basis for a bunch of plots where two people make a bet to see if they can improve someone's standing by turning their life upside down. (Romance technically optional.) That said, I'm not planning on having Liza do that kinda thing.
> 
> Freddy Dooley's name comes from Pygmalion, too. In the play, he's Liza's principal love interest, or he should be, anyway. (Playing my cards, here, but I can't see her getting with old Henry. Blarg, shipping, I know, but still.)
> 
> Sam, Redd, and Snap are all named after different fish. Sam is salmon, and Redd and Snap are named after red snapper. (Snap is just a nickname, of course. For what? I haven't worked that one out yet.)
> 
> Why do you think that Berries work the way they do? Why do some of them have bizarre effects, but some of them do nothing? Have you ever wondered about it? If those berries that did nothing started doing something, what would you have them do?
> 
> Next time: Route 2


	6. Teach a Man to Fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma and Merla help out a kid, and learn how to fish.

"What's this?" Roma muttered, holding a small thumb drive. He looked over at Merla's bedside table, and there wasn't one there. He turned it over in his hand. It seemed almost exactly like the ones the professor had, only this one had a green stripe running down its side. "Well, whatever it is, it fits in a Pokégear. Let's try it." The program on it installed immediately, and a new icon appeared, labeled as "Celebook".

"Celebook?" Like Celebi, Roma thought. He pushed the icon, and opened a simple menu in a harsh green-on-green aesthetic. Its two options were "Main" and "Sub". Roma tapped the former, and read the list that appeared: "Discover who closed the seige gate. Stop them." That didn't strike Roma as particularly helpful. We went into the "Sub" section. Another menu popped up, with something called "My Fair Berry" in it. He checked it, but another disappointing list appeared, saying "Find Liza business partners."

Roma put the Pokégear away. Whatever that thing was, it didn't matter. Roma grabbed Snowcap's Pokéball and headed out the door to the room, quietly so as not to wake Merla.

Around an hour later when Roma returned, Merla jumped up from the bed. "Oh, Roma. Jeez, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, I just wanted to get a little training done."

"So that's where you went. I thought you'd just left. Next time, could you leave me a note, or something?"

"Yeah, sure. So, slept well?"

"Yes, I did." She got off the bed. "I guess I'll take the bathroom to change, and then we can get..." She sniffed, and her face wrinkled. "Ugh, what's that smell?"

Roma sniffed the air. "Probably me. I got into training with Snowcap, and I guess-"

"Roma, you're taking a shower, now. I'll get dressed in here, and then we can go."

"Do I really smell that bad?" Roma asked as he walked into the bathroom. He sniffed at the bandana on his neck; it didn't really smell sweaty. He shrugged; Merla probably knew better than him what smelled bad.

Around fifteen minutes later, Roma emerged from the bathroom wearing a red-orange t-shirt. "Better?"

"Much," she said. "Come on, let's get moving. We'll make it to Perigold Town by this evening."

On the way out, Roma dropped the key off at the front desk. "Leaving already, Mr. Pomadoro?" Red said.

"Yeah, it was nice."

"Excuse me, Mr. Sam did say we could each get a fishing pole. Could we get them now?"

"Yeah, sure. Just grab one from the dining room.

"Hey, uh, I know this isn't your problem," he said as the three of them were in the dining room, "but you guys are going to do the Gym Challenge, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, I was thinking, if you ever meet someone who can help me 'n' pops read those catalogs, I'd really appreciate it."

"No promises."

"Roma!" Merla elbowed him. "We'll see what we can do. It'll be tough, though."

"I wouldn't expect results for a while." That got him another elbowing.

"Yeah, I figured that. If you do find someone, though, just send 'im our way, okay? Pops'd appreciate it."

As they left with a fishing pole sticking out of each of their bags, Roma rubbed his arm. "Y'know, you could aim for a softer part of my arm."

"You didn't have to be so rude, Roma. He was asking us for help."

"He was asking us to bring him up to someone who could be halfway across Agricales. That's if this person even exists. There's no point in telling him anything other than 'don't expect much'."

"You really need to learn to sugarcoat."

"The only sugarcoating I'll ever do is for Pokémon food, and you know it."

Merla rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. C'mon, let's just keep going. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

The morning passed by quickly, and the overhead sun soon shone on the two of them. They sat down to finish the leftovers from last night's dinner. Roma turned his nose a bit at the smell. "Ugh, it got worse."

"I know, just try to power through it."

"I'm going to have some trouble if I have to keep eating this."

"Yeah, I get it. Just try to eat it today. You don't have to eat fish everyday."

"If I want to find good protein, and I can catch fish, I can't really look a gift horse in the mouth, can I?" As he brought a spoon to his mouth, he paused. "Wait, Merla, can you fish?"

Merla didn't respond with words, but her face had a clear "No." on it, with an undertone of "Are we really this stupid?".

Roma grunted and smacked his forehead. "Alright, I guess first on our agendas is learning to fish. Next, the Gym, then..." Finding those weird terrorists, Roma thought.

"Finding people who can help Liza and Sam," Merla finished. "That about sums it up, right?"

"Just about. I guess let's go."

As they stood to leave, they heard a "Hello?" come from a prickly bush off to the roadside.

"Uh, hello? Who's that?" Merla called.

"I'm over here, in this bush!"

"We got that," Roma said as they moved toward it. "What's your name? You sound young."

"I'm Roe! I live in Perigold Town, and I got kinda caught." Moving a few branches, being careful not to poke themselves, Roma and Merla saw a small boy wearing a commemorative t-shirt about two sizes too big for him, snagged on a few thorns. "Hi. Do you think you can help me?"

Merla hesitated to move the branches around any more than she already had, but Roma moved in deftly, unweaving the loose fabric from the sharp spikes. "That should do it. Here, take my hand." The child did, and Roma pulled him out of the bush.

"Are you alright, Roe?" Merla asked. "That's your name, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm fine."

"Good. What were you doing here?" Roma, meanwhile, got out the first-aid kit and started treating Roe's scrapes.

"I, uh, wanted to see what was over this way. My mom doesn't normally let me explore outside town, but she said I could 'cause of my good grades."

"But you got caught in a bush all night. She's probably worried."

"Do you think so? I'd better get home, then."

"We can walk with you. You go to school in Perigold Town, right?"

"It's not like there's any other schools over here, Merla," Roma said. "The next closest one is in Matsuke." He packed up the kit. "He doesn't have anything bad. He's probably hungry, though."

"Oh, that's okay! I brought a few snacks so I wouldn't get hungry."

"Snacks aren't much of a meal," Merla said.

"I've got some leftovers," Roma said, grabbing the lunch box from his bag. "You can go ahead and-"

"Roma, you were supposed to eat that."

"Hey, if the kid likes fish, it's better that he eats it."

"I do like fish! Thank you, Mr. Roma." They kept walking as Roe scarfed down the lunch.

"So, what are you going to do when you get to Perigold Town, Mr. Roma?"

He shrugged without turning around. "I'm probably going to challenge the Gym."

"Wow, you're going to fight Mr. Kaesaru? That's so cool! What about you, Ms. Merla?"

"I'll be challenging Mr. Nero, too."

"Whoa!" Roe stared, starry-eyed. "You two are amazing!"

"Do you have any Pokémon, Roe?"

"Yes, ma'am! I've got two. One's a Bidoof my uncle gave me, and the other one's a Barboach I caught myself!"

"Wow! That's impressive."

"Barboach..." Roma said. "That's a fish Pokémon, right?"

"Yes, it is," Merla said. "It's Water-Ground-type, which is fairly unique. It's immune to Electric attacks as a result, at the cost of a weakness to Grass. Of course, being a fish, it has limited mobility on land, which puts it at a severe disadvantage in most battles. Underwater, however-"

"Merla, dial it back a bit. You're gonna make the kid's eyes glaze over."

"Oh! Sorry, you know how I get sometimes. I didn't mean to start rambling." She blushed.

"You know a lot about fish Pokémon, Ms. Merla. That's really cool."

"Eh heh... Thanks. I learned a lot in the school library. And it is important to know a lot about Pokémon if you're going to work with them, Roe."

"Okay! I'll be sure to read a lot."

"Don't get too caught up in books, though - a lot of stuff you can only learn by battling."

"Like what?"

"Like how a Pokémon thinks," Roma said. "If you can't work with them, you'll be working against them, and the only to know they'll do things is by battling with them until it clicks."

"Oh, I get it." Roe nodded. "So, if I battle with Bidoof, I'll understand him better."

"Exactly."

"Would you like to battle?" Roma turned around, and the fire he saw in Roe's eyes made his heart skip a beat.

"Uh, I mean, I would, but I'm not exactly in the right mindset. I've got to think about my Gym battle."

"Ah, right," Merla said. "You've only got a Grass-type, and you're going up against Nero. That's a tall order."

Roe looked at Roma's pack, and his eyes lit up again. "If you battle me, I can show you how to fish up a Pokémon!"

"Huh?" Roma turned his head, and saw the fishing rod he'd stuffed into it. "Man, you really want to battle, huh?"

"Having a Water-type would really help your chances, Roma. I think you should go for it."

"Even if I do, it wouldn't be a fair fight. He's got a ...Barboach, you said? And I've got Snowcap."

Merla hesitated, then said, "OK, how about this? I'll have the battle. Is that okay with you, Roe?"

Roe nodded. "Sure, I can do that. I just want to get to know Bidoof better."

"OK, and after, you can teach us to fish, right?"

"Sure thing!"

The empty field they chose for the battle was verdant and warm, heat radiating from the green grass, but not in a stifling way. "This battle will be one-on-one," Roma said, "Single-Battle style. Neither participant may use items, or switch Pokémon. If either Pokémon leaves the field, or flies above the treetops, they're disqualified from the battle. Do you both understand?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Roma!"

"You got it."

"Alright. Both participants send out their first Pokémon, and Merla gets the first attack."

"Why does she get it?"

"Because you challenged her to the battle. It's only fair."

"Okay... Go, Bidoof!" Roe threw out a Pokéball and from it emerged a brown, beaver-like creature with a simple grin on its muzzle.

"Alright... Zapp, let's go!" Her Procstrapi emerged from his Pokéball and flitted about. Where exactly was he now, he thought. The last thing he remembered was getting hit with a Pokéball by... he turned to see the woman who threw the ball. Guess he was hers now, he thought. "It's nice to meet you," she said to him. He nodded in agreement. "Ready?" He turned back around.

"Zapp, use Tackle!" The Procstrapi bursted forward in a flash of white light.

"Dodge it, Bidoof!" Roe's Bidoof tried to leap back, but only delayed the inevitable, getting struck in the stomach and tumbling backwards as Zapp flew back up into the air.

"Be careful," Merla said. "If you try to dodge every attack, you could leave yourself vulnerable to attacks." Bidoof rolled its way to its feet. "Alright, time for a risk. Zapp, Growl!" Zapp started sounding a lilting song from its throat. Its light, high tones filled the battlefield as he circled it.

"That's kinda pretty," Roe said, "but why is it risky?"

"It depends on your Bidoof's Ability. He could have Simple, or Unaware. Simple causes stat changes to be doubled."

"Stat changes?"

"How well a Pokémon does at fighting. Attack, Defense, Speed, Accuracy, those things."

"Oh, so Growl changes something about how Bidoof will fight!"

"Exactly. It lowers Attack power."

"But, if it doubles the effect, then he'll be really weak at attacking, won't he?"

"Yes, exactly."

"But if Bidoof has Unaware," Roma added, "then it won't be affected by those stat changes. That means the Growl would be useless."

"Not useless, Roma. If I know about it, then I can plan around it. I think it worked, though. Look at Bidoof." The beaver was standing with its eyes closed, listening to the beautiful music. "You've got next attack, Roe."

"O-oh, okay. Bidoof, use Tackle!" Bidoof blinked, and shook itself back to reality. It reared up, and launched itself into the air. It glinted with a white light, then faltered and twirled helplessly through the air. "B-Bidoof?!"

Looks like it worked, Merla thought. "Zapp, use Thunder Shock!" Zapp darted in and fired a spray of electricity from his mouth. Bidoof fell onto the ground, and fell unconscious.

"I'm calling it," Roma said. "Bidoof is unable to battle! The winner is... Zapp?" Merla nodded. "The victor is Merla!"

Roe sighed as he returned Bidoof to its ball. "I didn't get to hit you once."

"That's alright," Merla said. "Sometimes, it just works out that way, especially when the two people battling are at different skill levels."

"You started out strong," Roma said. "But when Bidoof couldn't dodge that attack, it was trouble. You also didn't have a plan for when things went pear-shaped. If Merla had pushed the attack, there wouldn't have been any contest."

"R-really? I guess I've got a lot to learn."

"You're still young, though," Merla said. "You should try going up against people around your age. You can learn a lot just by knowing where you're weak, and improving on that."

"I'd try practicing dodge training with Bidoof," Roma added, "and also think about learning some Special attacks, at least for now. Those won't be affected by Growl. Merla's right, you've got a while to go before your first Gym battles, so you have plenty of time to improve. Now, where do you think is a good place to fish?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right! Come on, I know a good place!" Roe led them to a small pond around fifteen minutes away. "It's not exactly the ocean, but there's a lot of neat Pokémon here. Here, get out your rods.

"Okay, what you want to do is..." Roma and Merla soon grasped the basics of fishing, and had their fishing poles in the water.

"Nothing's biting," Roma said as he pulled the bobber out the water.

"It's not going to be instant, Mr. Roma. Have a little patience. We've been here for two minutes. Put the bobber back in."

"Okay..." Roma sat there for another five minutes, and his bobber finally went under the water, and his line went taut. "Alright!" With a great heave, he pulled the rod from the water, bringing a two-foot-tall turquoise ball with feet and a clear flag-like tail trailing behind it.

"What is it?!"

"It's a Poliwag," Merla said, "a local one. It's a Water-Bug type. It could be a decent option against Nero, but it's not the best choice if we could find something that resists Fire better."

"I'm not in the mood to wait any more," Roma said. "I won't find something else with legs fishing, anyway. It'll have to do." Roma brought out Snowcap's Pokéball, and the Poliwag looked over at it. Without saying a word, the tadpole walked calmly down the shore a bit, and nodded solemnly. Roma nodded back.

"Snowcap, we've got this!" Snowcap emerged from her ball, and looked around at the craggy pond shore. Her opponent seemed to be the blue-green pollywog. She nodded at it and smiled. It nodded back. "Let's start with Leafage. Kick them around it!" Snowcap did just that, shaking glowing hair from her fur and knocking the leaves they turned into through the air. The Poliwag hopped back out of range of the kick. "Alright, let's go with Trot Tackle!"

Snowcap set off in a gray-glowing trot at the Poliwag. It leapt out of the way with ease, and landed a few feet away. While Snowcap slowly circled around, it curled into a ball and started revving like a tire. "Snowcap, launch a few leaves now, too. Don't let them cut deep, though." Snowcap nodded, and, without breaking stride, shot some leaves straight from her sides. "Oh, Razor Leaf already? Alright, then," he muttered. The leaves flew lazily at the Poliwag, and knocked it back a bit.

The Poliwag jolted from the ground as it landed, and whirled toward Snowcap. "Dodge whatever that is, Snowcap, but don't counterattack." She leapt to the side of the ball, and it zoomed right past her, barely grazing her flank. "Okay, now start shaking leaves out with Leafage-" The Poliwag turned its spin around and darted back towards her - and it seemed faster, too. "What? What move is that? Merla?"

"I'm thinking. It seems like something like Rollout, but-" The Poliwag struck against Snowcap's side and landed on the ground, accelerating even more and growing something reflective on its body. "Ice? Ice Ball! It'll get stronger as it spins, but if Snowcap's not there at all, the move'll stop!"

"This isn't good. Snowcap, use Razor Leaf to make a ramp!" Snowcap threw a pile of leaves onto the ground and leapt behind it. "That won't be enough. Use your head, Snowcap!" Snowcap shot him a look. "Dig your head into the ground!" Snowcap stared at him, as did Merla and Roe. "Hurry!" Snowcap, shaking her head, rammed her horns into the ground. The Poliwag ran through the leaves and up Snowcap's back, and into the air. The Poliwag whirled around in the air with all the finesse of a flipped coin, and uncurled from its Ice Ball to find itself thirty feet in the air. It flailed its legs and tail wildly, trying to lessen the impact it would have in the gravel.

"Alright, here we go!" Roma took out a Pokéball and hurled it through the air at the Poliwag. As it closed in, Poliwag saw it, and took a breath. The ball struck it in the head, and brought it inside. The ball fell to the ground and began to shake. Once... twice... three times... It stopped with a click. "Looks like I caught it." He walked up to the ball and threw it again. "Alright, Kasho, let's see what you can do."

"Kasho?" Merla asked as she walked up to him. "What's that mean?"

"'Riverbed'." The Poliwag looked around as it emerged from its ball, and saw its new Trainer pushing the button on its Pokéball - his Pokéball, Roma read from the Pokégear. "Calm Nature, and he likes to relax. 'It drains energy from plants on the edges of ponds to get energy to grow.' Fits with the Bug type, I suppose."

"You barely attacked it," Roe said. "How'd you catch it so easy?"

"There's more than one way to catch a Pokémon, Roe. If you battle them, you get your feelings across, but working together does the same thing. Some Pokémon are too proud to befriend just by doing things for them, though." A certain Skarmory flashed through Roma's head as he said that. "Some of them won't even let you get near them, because they're almost paranoid."

"In that case," Merla said, "it would be better to find a way to prove you're the kind of person they'd like."

"Okay..." Roe's head was tilted, confusion evident on his face.

"You're not getting this at all," Roma said, "are you, kid?"

"It's going in one ear and out the other, Mr. Roma."

"You've learned a lot today," Merla said. "You're probably taught out. Come on, we've still got some walking to do to get to Perigold Town."

Roma, Merla, and Roe started walking again, the sun drifting lower in the sky behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roe's name comes from the so-named fish eggs, like salmon and sturgeon. It's a common delicacy in many parts of the world, especially in Japan, being used as a garnish for seafood, among other things. 
> 
> I guess now's a good time to come clean - I first envisioned this as a fangame. As it turns out, a lot of the coding stuff goes over my head, though, so I started writing it down as a fanfiction. I'm finding it easier to produce now that I can just write things down, rather than program it. (I have got nothing but respect for people who make fan games. They've got impressive skills!)
> 
> It's difficult to make battles that feel like the games, though. I guess that's the problem with turn-based battles - they're abstracted for gameplay purposes, not for writing down. I'm more imitating the anime with my battles, because it's more dynamic.
> 
> Next time: VS Gym Leader


	7. Fighting Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merla faces the Fire-Type Gym Leader, Nero. Roma challenges the leader, too.

"You know your way to your house from here, Roe?" Merla said.

"Yes, ma'am, Ms. Merla! And you're going to challenge Mr. Nero tomorrow, right? I'm gonna be there, for sure!"

"Looking forward to it, kid," Roma said. "Stick around for mine, too, okay?"

"Yes, sir!" Roe turned to leave, and waved goodbye as he walked down a street.

"I'd say helping him already paid off, wouldn't you?" Roma said.

"Roma, you know you're not supposed to think helping people will help you back."

"I don't, but it's nice when it does. Having Kasho will make Nero's Gym battle easier than it was."

"Right." They started walking to Merla's house, then the other shoe dropped. "Wait, 'than it was'? What do you mean by that?"

Roma blinked. "W-well, than it was going to be, with just Snowcap. You know, she's going to be an Ice-type after she evolves, so I've got to get every advantage I can."

Merla lowered her eyelids, but nodded. "Right. Okay. Well, what do you think my mom made for dinner?"

"Knowing what you like? Probably skewers."

"Oh, I love those! Here's hoping."

"Welcome home, Merla!" her mother said as she showed them in. "And welcome to you, too, Roma. It's great to have you."

"She's on time, as usual?"

"As usual," she said. "You know her, she wouldn't be late to her own funeral."

Roma snickered. "Yeah, you got that right."

"I hope you're hungry. Merla told me you had to sit through a fish dinner at the Fishing Hook. I take it you're starving."

"Well, I could definitely eat."

"Alright, set your things in your room, and come to the dining room. Dinner'll be out in a second."

The plate in the center of the table had four steaks piled up on it. Not quite skewers, but Merla seemed happy.

"So, I understand you two have gotten jobs working for Belledonna. How is she doing?"

"Professor Mycelli?" Roma said. "She seemed fine. My mom's doing alright, too."

"I'm glad. I heard your house got infested with Crystick, though. Is there an exterminator around there?"

"No, one's coming over from here."

"Is Cherry going to be able to afford that?"

"I think so. Mom's still got money saved up from... you know."

"Ah, right. Forgot about that."

"Hey, Mom," Merla said, "Is Nero going to be teaching tomorrow; do you know?"

Merla's mother thought for a second. "I don't see a reason why he wouldn't. Why? Will you be going to his class tomorrow?"

"I was planning to challenge him for the badge."

"Oh! Well, that's exciting. You're going to go for the Pokémon League, then? Roma, are you doing it, too?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I know what I'm making tomorrow night. You two should rest up, then, you've got a big day ahead of you."

"Actually, I've got something to do tonight," Roma said. "I could be going to sleep a little late."

After dinner, Roma excused himself and left the house. He came back a few hours later, quietly, and made his way to bed.

The next day, Roma and Merla sat outside on her porch and talked strategy. "I think it'd be better if you started out with Snowcap."

"She's weak against Fire, though."

"She is, yes, but if you start out with her, then you bring out... your Poliwag-"

"Kasho."

"-Kasho- when Nero has his ace out. You'll need the advantage the most there."

"Right. Does that mean you're sending Zapp out first?"

"I could. I could also send him out second. My Pokémon are both relatively strong options, between Curio's Fire type and Zapp's flying."

"What's that thing called where you switch Pokémon out really fast, 'quick change'? Do you think you could use that?"

"No, I don't have enough Pokémon to pull that off. I'd need more than four, at least. Of course, switching out is a decent idea if things go south, but I'll be around half a Pokémon down."

"Have you taught either of them any techniques?"

"No, it's kind of slipped my mind. Any ideas?"

"Maybe something with Curio's Burst and Ember? Or Zapp's Tackle and Peck. They could combine, maybe."

"I'll try to work something out. What about you?"

"I'm good. I've got some things set up."

"Alright. ...I guess we're ready, then."

They made their way to a large coliseum-like building, with a newer set of buildings grafted onto it, and a stone sign out front with the words:  
"Nero Kaesaru's Trainer School, and  
Perigold Town's authorized Gym.  
Type: Fire  
Leader: Nero" carved into it. They stepped through the double doors leading into the the coliseum, and said hello to the guard.

"Hey, there, Merla! What're you doing here today? It's beginner week, you know."

"I'm here for the same reason he is," Merla said, pointing at Roma. "We're challenging Nero."

The guard smiled. "Sounds good. Just wait here, and he'll be right out."

A few minutes later, a man in a baggy white shirt with curled blond hair stepped through the doors at the other end of the room, atop the stairs. "Well, Merla. I'm surprised to see you here. Though, maybe not as much as I could be." He walked up to her, and held his hand out. "I always figured I'd be your first badge. Tell me, how does it feel?"

"Exciting, but also a little scary." She took his hand and shook it.

"Alright." He nodded, then turned to the door he'd just entered from. "Class, you can come out now," he said. A commotion came from behind the door, and a group of guilty-looking children huddled out onto the stairs. "How would you bunch like to see a Gym Battle?" The kids instantly perked up, and started babbling excitedly, rushing to the front of the stands. Merla caught a familiar face, and waved to Roe.

"And it's nice to meet you, challenger," Nero said, walking to Roma. "Will you be battling me now, too?"

"I'd planned on it, Nero. This is my first badge."

"Hm, that could be a problem. I'm not sure my Pokémon will be able to handle two battles in a row at this level."

"They would get really tired, yeah. That's why I won't be fighting them."

Nero raised his eyebrows. "What are saying, Mr..."

"Pomadoro, Roma Pomadoro," he said, holding out his hand. "I'll go against your next-level team, if it gets me a battle today." The gallery of kids erupted with shock, as did Merla.

"Well, I can't say you're not enthusiastic. I can guarantee you a battle tomorrow, if that's-"

"I need to do it as soon as I can. There's something I'm doing, and I don't know how much time I have to do it."

"...Alright, if it's so urgent. Fine, I accept your challenge, too." They shook hands. "Please, watch closely, you'll be at a disadvantage."

He waved his hand toward the field. "Merla, shall we?" Merla and Nero took their positions at opposite sides of the dirt-and-clay arena, and Roma moved into the stands.

"This will be a Gym Battle against Gym Leader Nero Kaesaru, versus the challenger, Merla Traub," the referee said. "It will be a standard Gym Battle. The challenger may use as many Pokémon as she carries, and the Gym Leader will use a pre-picked team. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon out, but both participants may use items. Do both battlers understand these rules?" Merla and Nero said so. "Battlers, bring out your Pokémon. The challenger has the first attack."

"Go, Zapp!" Merla sent Zapp out, and he looked jerkily around the round arena he saw before him.

Roma saw Nero hesitate, then switch the Pokéball in his hand, and with an "Et tu, Ponyta!", a three-foot-tall cream-colored horse with a flaming mane emerged from it.

"He's starting with Ponyta?" Roma muttered.

"Is that not normal?" Roe asked, beside him.

"Ponyta's his ace Pokémon, it's normal to use it last. So why?"

"Zapp, use Peck!" Zapp zoomed down to the Ponyta and rammed its side with his glowing-white beak. The Ponyta flinched and stepped to its right.

"Ponyta, Tackle!" It turned and barreled into Zapp point-blank, bouncing him off the ground and back into the air. "Follow it up with Ember!" The Ponyta inhaled deeply and launched a spray of hot ash.

"Zapp, climb!" He righted himself and did a quick loop down, then flapped his wings to gain height, putting him over the Ember attack.

"Good job, Merla. Outrange your opponent in a battle, and you're halfway to winning."

"Right. Zapp, dive and use Thunder Shock!"

"Fire Ember as it dives down!" Zapp darted around as it descended, moving in a strange pattern that Ponyta couldn't quite follow. All the same, it launched a blast of Ember, as instructed, and got a little lucky, singing his tail feathers, even if it took a full Thunder Shock to compensate.

Zapp tried to ascend and use the rush of air to put out the flames, but it was no use. His feathers began to smoke, and he started panicking, dashing around the round arena haphazardly. "No, Zapp, calm down!"

"He's panicking, Merla!" Roma said. "Find a way to calm him down!"

Merla's mind raced, and lightning struck. "Zapp, down here! I've got burn healers!"

"You remembered to pack Burn Heal, Merla?" Nero asked.

Zapp flew to Merla's arm and hopped on it, ruffling its feathers nervously. "Here, I'm going to give you this." She held out a blue Rawst Berry. "Eat this, and your burn will get better." Zapp picked the berry up, and swallowed it in the same gulp. Quick enough, the flame on his tail put itself out. Zapp sighed in relief, and flew back into the battlefield.

"Good job, Merla," Nero said. "you can't afford to panic when your Pokémon have a condition. Keep in mind that Burn is worse on Physical attackers, though - and if you can't or won't cure the burn, plan around the losses that will cause."

"Yes, sir. Shall we continue?"

"Certainly. I get first attack. Ponyta, Tackle!"

"Spin around it, Zapp, and use Peck!" Both battlers did just what they were told, Ponyta charging forward and Zapp whirling to its back and jabbing it with his glowing beak.

"Flame Charge, Ponyta!" Ponyta's mane seemed to flare up, as it charged, engulfed in flame. Zapp broke the attack and jolted up to the air.

"Zapp?"

"He's quick to flee, Merla," Roma said. "You said it yourself."

"How'd you know that?" Roe asked.

"She told me."

"Is she going to do this?"

"We're not sunk yet." To Merla, he said, "You know how Flame Charge works, right? You've got this!"

Merla nodded. "Alright, Zapp, here's what I need you to do!" Merla ran through what she knew about Flame Charge. "Tail it! It's not going to be able to charge into you that way!" Zapp nodded, and dived down into the Ponyta's wake. "Once you're down, Peck it while you're safe!" Zapp thought he probably wouldn't be safe, but heeded her advice anyway, and struck the horse's backside while the flames around it grew higher, and the horse in front faster. All at once, the flames dissipated, and the Ponyta's legs buckled. Zapp took the opprotunity to soar back up into the cooler air.

"Ponyta is unable to battle! The victor is Zapp the Procstrapi!"

"Very well done, Ponyta," Nero said as he returned his Ponyta to its ball. "You put up a good battle, Merla. Moving behind her was an excellent idea."

"Thank you, Mr. Nero. I'm proud of it, too."

"You've gotten faster at deciding on a course of action, too. I'm proud to call you my pupil - though, I guess I won't be for long, huh? After all, this is my last Pokémon." He grabbed the first ball on his belt. "Numel, pugne!" The Pokémon that emerged from the ball was tan-skinned, with a patch of green on top of its single hump. A large, half-lidded eye was on each side of its face, giving it a sleepy appearance. "I take first attack.

"Numel, Ember!" It snorted, and launched a large glob of Embers into the air. It soared into the air, and exploded like a firework, launching ash and ember all around. Zapp jolted, and bolted, flying as far from the Fire-type attack as he could.

"Zapp, lower your altitude, and attack!" He twirled down and zoomed behind the Numel, spraying electricity at just the right time. Numel swiveled around, none the wiser, and hucked a glob of Ember at Zapp. The sticky ball got caught in his feathers, and Zapp fell to the ground. He tried to work the hot gunk out of his feathers, but got exhausted from the sheer effort. Zapp laid his head down to try to sleep it off.

"Zapp the Procstrapi is unable to battle! The victor is Numel!" Merla returned Zapp to his ball.

"So that's why..." Roma said.

"Aw, man, Zapp got knocked out! Why didn't the electric attack work?" Roe said.

"Electric-type attacks on a Ground-type don't work," Roma said, "and that Ember was a direct hit. Zapp is frail, so he wouldn't have been able to take too much punishment, anyway."

"Really? I didn't notice."

"Well, now you're going to see Merla's starter. Excited?"

"Wait, really?! Cool!" Roe leaned on the railing.

"Curio, let's go!" Merla brought out the fire deer, and he looked around the stadium. His opponent was a camel, probably a Ground-type. That didn't seem like a good match-up, but Merla knew what she was doing. "I've got first attack, right?"

"Correct. You got a Fire-type, huh?"

"Yes, I did. Though, I was thinking of someone else when I picked him." She glanced at Roma with a smile. "Now, if you're ready?"

"Of course, Merla. At your attack."

"Okay, Curio, use Burst!" Curio fired a blast from his mouth that struck the Numel in the face. It didn't seem too fazed by the attack, though.

"Numel, Ember!" The camel spat a glob of Ember in an arc, aiming for it to explode just as it reached Curio.

"Burst Shield!" Curio imitated what he'd seen Snowcap do, and launched a Burst attack at the Ember blob, detonating it before it got anywhere close. Actually, the Numel took a little of the attack, so that worked out well.

"Numel, use Tackle!" Numel ran forward to hit Curio.

"Dodge it, Curio!" Curio jumped to its left, and wobbled and lost his balance. He slammed on the arena wall and steadied himself.

"I see," Nero muttered. "Numel, Flame Charge around the arena!" It engulfed itself in a sticky flame and circled the outer ring.

"Curio, get away from the edge!" Curio stepped slowly away from the wall, just quick enough to avoid the flaming ball of Numel moving at him and not fall down.

"Continue, Numel! Build up your speed!" The fireball began making circles around the arena. "You'd best figure a way out of this, Merla! A fast opponent isn't one you'll want to face."

"Uh, right, right." Merla wracked her brain, thinking of a way for Curio to attack. Ember probably wouldn't work, Burst either, what could?

"Is this bad, Mr. Roma?" Roe asked.

Roma didn't even hear Roe ask; he was concentrating on the battle. As their heartbeats synced up, he tensed at Curio subconciously. Curio shuddered at the sudden feeling, and gnashed his teeth together, giving a great chomp and feeling shocked at the power behind it.

"What is... Wait, his jaw, his fangs - Curio, get to the edge and wait for my command!" Curio nodded and moved into position. The fireball bared down on him soon after, its heat making Curio's throat itch. "Go, use that biting attack to knock it aside!" Curio swerved his head back and got the Numel's neck between his jaws, wrenching it to the ground with a bright, cold breath. Curio shook his head to shake the Flame Charge's heat away.

Numel clambered to its feet in short order, dripping a bit of water from its neck. "Use Tackle!" It sprang from the ground and leapt right at Curio.

"Collapse!" Curio fell to the ground, despite not really knowing why. The sound of a small camel impacting the wall answered Curio's question, though. He looked up, to see the Numel embedded into the arena's side. Without needing a direction, Curio fired a Burst, and then another. The Numel squirmed in the wall.

"I'm calling this battle!" the referee shouted. Curio stopped charging his third Burst attack. "The victor is Curio the Firefawn! The winner is Merla Traub, of Perigold Town! She will recieve the Fireworks badge, as well as TM number 74, Flame Charge!"

"Congratulations, Merla," Nero said, retuning Numel. "I'm proud of all of you. Great job."

"T-thank you," Merla said. "I can't believe I did it. I... it's going to sink in soon, I know."

"I'm sure it will. Now, I'd hate to push you away, but I believe your friend wants to battle me, too."

"Oh, yeah. Roma, sorry, I-"

"Hey, you're in shock. I know how you get. Let's take five, I guess. That okay with you, Nero?"

"Certainly. We reconvene in a few minutes. Merla, I know you're not my student anymore, but would you mind watching my class while I run to grab some things?"

"Ah, no, Mr. Nero. Not at all."

"Thank you, Merla." Nero bowed to thank her, then walked out the door up in the stands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perigold Town is named after the Perigord truffle, and subsequently the region in France it's named after. (Boy, am I glad there isn't a region in Kalos named that.)
> 
> Nero Kaesaru's name comes from Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the last emperor of Rome's Julio-Claudian dynasty. (According to Wikipedia, anyway.) The historical Nero is said to have played the fiddle while part of Rome burned to the ground. Then again, this happened 3000 or so years ago, so no one knows the true story.
> 
> So, our first gym battle is done! What was your favorite part? The early fights are interesting, because the characters have very little at their disposal, so they need to use cunning and ingenuity to overcome the problem, as opposed to raw strength. Of course, if the character finds such things difficult, it's hell to get through.
> 
> Also, the TM No. for Flame Charge is correct. The explanation will come later, but suffice to say, the TM Numbers have been jumbled around a bit. 
> 
> Next time: VS Gym Leader+1


	8. With Light Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma faces Gym Leader Nero at a higher-than-usual level.

"That was amazing, Ms. Merla!" Roe ran down to the arena as soon as Nero left, as did a lot of the class. "I can't believe you won the battle!"

"Yeah, it was shocking to me, too. I - my Pokémon managed it pretty well, though."

"You did it, too, Merla," Roma said. "You thought on your feet pretty well. What do you think that move Curio used was?"

"I think it was... probably Ice Fang."

"Ice Fang? Curio can learn that?"

"No," she said, "it's probably an Egg Move."

"Egg Move?" Roe asked. "What's that?"

"They're moves that a Pokémon can't learn, but they inherit them from their parents."

"What, like Kasho's Ice Ball?" Roma asked. "I mean, I've never heard of a Poliwag learning it."

"It's possible... no, probable. I don't think they can, either."

"Well, I guess that makes Kasho pretty special."

"The thing is, Curio didn't have that move before, but..." Merla checked her Pokégear. "Yeah, he's got it now."

"Huh? Seriously?"

"Is that unusual?" Roe asked.

"Considering Egg Moves are with a Pokémon from birth, yes. It's very unusual. I'm not sure why-"

The door at the top of the stairs opened, and Nero walked out. "Well, I hope everyone wasn't too bored while they waited. I had to exchange my Pokémon, to make sure my challenger felt properly challenged. Everyone not involved in the battle, please return to the stands." The students dashed back up to the stands in short order.

"Ah, Merla, wait," Nero said as she started walking. "Could you please give me my Ponyta back? She'll be my ace for this battle."

"You lent out your ace to Merla?" Roma asked. "What happens if someone challenges you to a battle at this level?"

"I don't get a lot of people who do that. If Matsuke's someone's first, I'm second, because I'm closest. So, I lend out my Pokémon to people who may need protection from wild ones."

Merla took the ball from her bag and put it in Nero's hand. "Thank you very much, Merla."

"Hold on." The referee held his hand out. "You can't use that Ponyta."

"Huh? Why can't he?" Roma asked.

"It's a rule that a Gym Leader has to have his entire team ready to go before he accepts a challenge. It's unfair to the challenger if the Leader can change his team around before the match, just to make it harder on them." He pointed at the ball in Nero's hand. "This is a clear violation of that rule."

Roma frowned. He understood what the protocol was, and it would help him get through the battle faster. Despite that, he said, "It's fine. He can use the Ponyta if he wants."

"E-erm, are you sure?" the referee said. "The rule does give you an advantage, you know."

"I know. But Snowcap would never forgive me if I didn't give it my all."

"Alright, if you're really sure." The referee turned to Nero. "The challenger gave the OK, so I'll make an exception this time. In the future, though, please make sure you're ready before accepting a challenge."

"Of course. Now, Roma, you said you've got a Pokémon named Snowcap?"

"Yes, I do."

"Sounds like it's an Ice-type."

"Not yet, but she is Grass."

"Are you really sure you want to do this?"

"Very, sir."

Nero paused, then whispered something to the referee. "Alright, let's get started. Take your position, if you please."

"This battle will be a non-standard Gym Battle, accomodating for the challenger's wishes, between Roma Pomadoro, of Portobel Town, and the Gym Leader, Nero Kaesaru! The Gym Leader will use a... team of Pokémon meant to challenge those with two or three Gym badges! In addition, only the challenger will be permitted to use items, or switch his Pokémon! Do both battlers accept these terms?" Roma and Nero agreed. "Battlers, send out your first Pokémon! The challenger has the first attack!"

Roma brought out Snowcap, and Nero sent out a small yellow stone-like Pokémon, not a foot tall, leaking bright yellow flames fading to a deep red at their back.

_"Snowcap!" Roma reached out his arm, but the attack came too fast. The air in the confined space filled with the disgusting smell of burnt hair._

Roma pressed his temples and shook his head to bring himself back. "That... that's not a Starshade, right?"

Nero raised his eyebrows. "No, though I'm impressed you know that much. He's a Starspark, and they aren't very common around here. Do you have some experience with them?"

Roma gave a humorless chuckle. "Something like that," he muttered, too quietly for anyone to hear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to delay the battle. Are you ready?"

Nero blinked, but nodded. "When you are ready, I am."

"Alright. Snowcap, use Tackle!" Snowcap rocketed outward in a burst of gray, bashing straight into the comet in front of her. It swirled backward, trailing electric fire behind it.

"Alright, then," Nero said. "Starspark, Tail Whip!" Its tail whirled around it, lighting the area up with a yellow-red light.

"Wow, pretty!" Roe said.

"It's a Defense-lowering move," Merla told him. "Snowcap'll have a hard time if she gets hit now."

"Good," Nero said, "now, Flame Charge!" It swirled clockwise through the air, its flame swallowing its body as it turned a vibrant red.

"Snowcap, dodge right!" Snowcap took a leap to the right, letting the Starspark pass by her harmlessly. The heat wasn't comfortable, but at least Snowcap didn't feel any pain. "Alright, use Razor Leaf!" Snowcap hurled leaves from her side at the comet, making its tail wobble, and its body waver in its swirling orbit. "Tackle it!" She blasted forward and knocked against it. The Starspark bounced off the ground back into the sky.

"Starspark, reciproce! Use Tackle as well!" It turned, swirling in a surprisingly tight circle around and struck Snowcap in her jaw. She stumbled backward in pain, eyes wide. That really hurt! Snowcap focused her gaze, and did a swirl of her own, using Leafage to change her hair as she pivoted on her front legs to bash that electric whatever to the ground. She snorted as its yellow flames went out.

"Starspark, rede." Nero returned the Pokémon to its ball. "An excellent showing, Mr. Pomadoro. I was impressed by your grasp of technique. You know your Snowcap well."

"Of course." He'd had her for a long time. How couldn't he? "I'm ready for your next Pokémon."

"Very well. Numel, pugne!" Nero sent out a camel a lot like the last one. Something about it wasn't the same, though - its expression was just slightly less sleepy-looking. "When you are ready, Roma."

Roma tilted his head in confusion. "You're the one with first attack. I fainted your Pokémon, remember?"

"Ah, so you did. Very well. If you are ready?"

"Go ahead."

"Numel, attack!" The green-humped camel dashed forward, hitting Snowcap before she could even tense up. She flew into the wall and landed on shaky legs. Snowcap took a shallow breath and shook her head.

"Snowcap, are you alright?" Roma called. "Come here, I'm using a Potion." Snowcap walked over to him uneasily, and sat in front of him. Roma pulled a glass bulb filled with the medicine from his bag and loaded it into its sprayer. He sprayed the Potion onto Snowcap's body, especially where the impact against the wall was. Snowcap stood up, much more easily, and stretched her body out. That really felt a lot better, didn't it! 

"Alright, Snowcap, Nero's going to be using some really strong attacks now. We're going to have to do our best to take them. I don't want you to worry. We've got this, like always." Roma smiled confidently. Snowcap nodded, a little confused. Despite not really getting what Roma was saying, she smiled and nodded all the same. She was going to try her hardest! She was feeling really pumped up now, actually. Snowcap turned around and sauntered back into position.

"You may attack," Nero said.

Roma lowered his eyebrows. "No, you attack," he said. "C'mon, you know how that works."

"Very well," Nero said, shrugging. "Numel, once more!" It rocketed forward again and struck empty air as Snowcap leapt high into the air and landed behind it. "Turn around!" The Numel stepped sluggishly over its own feet, turning to face Snowcap's backside. It began morshing a wet Ember in its mouth.

"Snowcap, use Leafage!" Snowcap whirled on her hind legs and raked the Numel with her leaves. "Great, now break off and move along the wall!" She did just that.

"Numel, move after it with Tackle!"

"Huh?" Merla muttered. "That's not..."

Roma narrowed an eye, then called, "Snowcap, Yowai Taiatari." Snowcap began to glow a dull grey. She took a hop, turned while she was in the air, and attacked the Numel while still moving backwards. It hit the wall and span a bit as it fell to the ground.

Nero brought out its ball. "Numel, rede-"

"Hold it."

"Huh? What is it, Roma?"

"You're not going to return Numel after that, are you?"

"He's been hurt. I don't know if-"

"Oh, don't give me that crap, and stop trying to go easy on me."

A series of gasps came from the stands. "What exactly makes you think I'm going easy on you?"

"I hit Numel with Trot Tackle, that's why."

"Trot Tackle? That would be a modified Tackle, correct?"

"Yeah, and it's too low-speed to faint a Pokémon. So why are you returning your Numel?! I know what I got into when I asked you to battle, don't treat me like you're just humoring me!"

Nero blinked. "Very well," he said, "then from here on, the kid gloves come off." His eyes darted to Snowcap, then he chuckled. "'Kid' gloves. Then, we begin. I will hold nothing back. Prepare yourself!"

"Oh, wow! Mr. Nero was going easy on him?" Roe asked, eyes wide.

"Seems like it," Merla said. "Of course, he was treating Roma like he had no badges, like he does, but..." Merla took a long look at her friend. "Does he actually..."

"Does he what, Ms. Merla?" Merla didn't answer. She'd sunk into her own thoughts.

"Are you ready, Roma?" Nero called.

"If you are."

"Very well. Numel, Flame Charge!" In a burst of fire, the camel took off from the ground aimed directly at Snowcap.

"Snowcap, use Tackle to move past it!" She let out a burst of her own, lowering her horns and darting diagonally behind the Numel.

"Swivel and Incinerate!" The Numel whirled on a single leg and, with pinpoint accuracy, spat a ball of blue fire. It cooled to red just before it hit Snowcap, but the flames took all of Snowcap's attention away from her Tackle. Numel wasted no time in closing the gap between the two, and lit its Flame Charge back up.

Snowcap flew into the wall, and collapsed to the ground. Her legs strained under the effort to stand. This was really intense, wasn't it? But she needed to be strong, for Roma. She pushed herself up onto her feet, and straightened her back, a determined look in her eyes. Roma felt Snowcap's heart beat faster, and he tensed without noticing.

Snowcap suddenly began to glow a bright white. "Whoa, Snowcap's evolving!" Roe said.

"Huh?" Merla was brought out of her reverie at the sight. "That could be good. Roma needs a little more muscle right now."

Then, it stopped. Snowcap the Laurelus had become a Laurelus! "Wait. What just-"

Roma collapsed to his hands and knees, breathing shallowly. "Roma!" Merla ran down the stairs and onto the field. "Are you okay? Talk to me, Roma!" she said, kneeling beside him.

"I'm... fine," he said. "Just a little... winded, is all. How's Snowcap?"

Merla looked at the goat. "She looks dizzy. Probably from the aborted evolution. What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. I saw her, and then she started evolving, and then -" Blue fire flashed through Roma's mind. "- I..."

"Do you think we should stop the battle?" Nero said, kneeling beside Roma as well. "I don't want you to battle if you're hurt."

"No, I just need... to catch my breath, is all." Roma took Merla's proffered hand, and stood up. "I can't remember that ever happening before," he said to Merla, too quietly for Nero to hear as he walked back to his place. "Mind if we head to the Pokémon Center after this?"

"Sure, Roma." She made her way back to the stands, and sat back down next to Roe.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure right now, but we'll figure it out, Roe. Don't worry."

"You may have the first attack, Roma," Nero said.

Roma looked at Snowcap, head whirling and legs even wobblier than they were before. "No, you'll get it. I'm switching out. Snowcap, you did better than I could've asked for. Get some rest, okay?" He pulled her Pokéball out and returned her to it. "I think you'll have more trouble against my next Pokémon, Nero."

"To speak is easy, to act, rewarding. Rarely can you get both. Show me what it can do."

"Alright. Kasho, we've got this!" Roma threw his ball and out came the turquoise tadpole himself, eyes closed and feet crossed. He stood deliberately, and observed his opponent. A Ground-type, it was likely. This shouldn't take long, then he could get back to meditating.

"Are you ready?" Nero asked. Roma nodded. "Very well. Numel, Flame Charge!"

"Water Sport!" Kasho drew himself upward onto his tail, and with him came beads of water - small at first, then heavier and heavier. Soon the battlefield was covered in a heavy dew, as if it was an early morning.

"Clever! But not enough, I'd say!"

"Doesn't have to be. Kasho, use Water Gun!" He spat a stream of water into the Numel's face. The fireball protecting it had been weakened by the dew, and the stream was the death blow. Numel stopped in its tracks, then collapsed onto the wet ground.

"Numel is unable to battle! The victor is Kasho!"

"Numel, rede." Nero returned the Pokémon.

"Also, as per the agreement before the battle, Gym Leader Nero will not be allowed to use his Starspark."

"So, it was still able to fight, too."

"It was, indeed. But be prepared, Roma, for my ace Pokémon." He pulled the ball out that Merla'd handed to him. "The last act begins! Ponyta, pugne!" It emerged from its Pokéball, a hand-and-a-half taller from the one Merla faced, and with far more muscle tone. "She's a beautiful horse, isn't she?"

"She is, yeah," Roma replied. "She's got a nice coat, too. Her mane is bright and high, too. What kind of food does she eat?"

"Something special I make myself. Of course, sometimes her constitution starts going south, so then I've got to sneak medicine into it. You wouldn't believe how fragile a horse Pokémon actually is."

"Are they really?" The ground began to change color from a bright orange to a duller brown.

"Roma, the ground!" Merla shouted. "Your Water Sport's drying up! He's trying to distract you!"

Roma started. "Wh- Hey, he is! Kasho, use Water Gun!" Kasho blew a stream of water at the Ponyta. 

"Why did Mr. Roma do that? Didn't he remember he was battling Mr. Nero?" Nero's Ponyta dodged the Water Gun, trotting forward out of its trajectory.

"Honestly, Roe? I think he really did forget. Nero definitely picked up on his thing for Pokémon."

"Let that be a lesson, Mr. Pomadoro," Nero said, confirming what Merla thought. "You cannot lay idle during a battle! To allow yourself to get distracted spells defeat almost every time! Now, if we may continue. Ponyta, Tackle!"

"Why isn't he using Flame Charge?"

"Flame Charge won't do the damage he needs. Fire-type moves in Water Sport lose half their power."

"So-"

"That's exactly why."

"Kasho, we're almost there! We just need some way to take care of that Flame Charge!" Kasho closed his eyes and sat in lotus position.

"Haven't learned, then? Fine. Ponyta, Flame Wheel!" The Ponyta's body began to glow with heat as it braced its front hooves in the ground and whirled its back hooves behind. 

As it took off like a shot, its back feet shooting whirling flames ahead, Kasho pieced a few ideas together. That something, this other part... but what could tie it together? Roma tensed, and Kasho opened his eyes in time to see the flaming whorl about to hit him. That was it! 

Kasho flew backwards and cracked something behind him on impact. Whether it was the wall or his tail, he couldn't tell. It didn't matter. He spat as strong a Water Gun as he could manage and shot off the ground, flying overhead and splashing the Ponyta with water.

"What strategy is Mr. Roma using?"

"I don't know. He didn't call anything." Merla put her hand to her mouth. "Something's... not quite right."

"Ponyta, let's use Flame Charge. Build up your speed!" It began dashing around the round stadium, wreathed in a red flame.

Kasho, meanwhile, saturated the soil with his Water Gun and carved deep trenches into the dirt with the pressurized spray. Roma didn't follow exactly what his Pokémon was doing, but he knew what he had to do. Roma stared intensely at Kasho's stream.

"This isn't good. Kasho's going to run out of Water Gun soon."

"That can happen?"

"A move can only be used so many times before its user gets exhausted. And at the rate that spray's going-"

She didn't get to finish the thought. "Now!" Roma shouted, and Kasho shot even higher up, knocking his tail off the roof and yeah, that was his tail, after all. Kasho flinched backward in pain, then curled into a ball and revved like a tire as he plummeted to the ground. As he splashed into a puddle he'd made, it immediately turned to slush and ice.

"I-Ice Ball?!" Nero shouted. Kasho's impact knocked him off the wall like a pinball, and when he ran over a line of water, it froze in the ground. "Ponyta! Avoid the ice!" Easier said than done, as Ponyta's speed was nearly at its maximum. It tried to slow down, but its own muscles wouldn't listen, jumping and twitching constantly. Its hoof stomped onto a patch of slush and slipped, taking it down. "No!"

"Water Gun!" Kasho launched a piddling of water at the Ponyta, then slumped over, exhausted.

"Ponyta is no longer able to battle! The victor is Kasho, and the winner is Roma Pomadoro, of Portobel Town! He will recieve the Firework Badge, as well as TM 74, Flame Charge!"

"Roma," Merla said, "you did it! W-We did it! We beat Mr. Nero!"

"Yeah, we did. I guess," he said to Nero, "you'll be giving us the badges and ID papers?"

"I'll be giving you an ID paper," he said. "Merla's already got an ID. Also..."

Roe piped up. "You're gonna take their pictures, right?"

"Exactly. It's for something fun. Now, shall we?"

The referee pulled out a camera. "Alright," he said, "would you like to take one picture or two?"

Roma brought out Snowcap, still weary, and Merla brought out Curio and Zapp. "Smile!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, our first Gym Battle is done! What was your favorite part? (Man, anyone else getting déjà vu?) Sure, it's not game-accurate, but it felt nice, didn't it? Adhering too closely to game canon can be stifling. Well, now our two heroes have gotten their first badges! It's only the beginning, and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.
> 
> Next time: We wind down for the night.


	9. The Way You Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma and Merla are in the downswing, and Merla meets someone odd.

"Painting?" Roma asked.

"Yeah, he does it in his spare time," Merla said. "From what I've seen, he's pretty good. Of course, I'm not an art person, so I couldn't say for sure."

"I guess even Gym Leaders have hobbies." They were walking up the street, heading to the Center.

"I think there's a painting of his in the Center, actually."

"You want to see it?"

"Well, we haven't got anything else to do while our Pokémon are getting healed, right?"

"Yeah." Roma fell behind. "I really don't think Kasho's tail looks good." He looked at the Poliwag in his hands. His tail was bent at an awkward angle. "I just hope it isn't broken."

"You can't tell?"

"My mom never taught me the difference between a broken tail and a sprained one."

"Mine didn't either, but a nurse-"

"She never was too keen on me getting close to Pokémon, remember? After Hari and Needle, do you really think she'd want me around injured Pokémon?"

"Ooh, you're right." Merla thought back, to those two Nidoran. Needle had been the first Pokémon she'd ever battled with; then again, she wasn't very strong, either, and against a Nidorino... "We're lucky we made it out alive."

"We were? I thought Hari was handling himself pretty well."

"Of course he was, Needle was cheering him on!" A thought ran across Merla's mind. "Wait, how did... Hari..." She slowed to a stop.

"Huh? Hey, Merla, come on." He pulled her by the arm to keep her walking. "You've gotta heal Curio and Zapp, remember?"

Roma pulled her into the Center and up to the counter. "I've got four Pokémon between the two of us. How soon can you look at them?"

"Immediately," said the nurse at the counter. "Just set their Pokéballs there. Anything special about the battle?"

"We both won against Nero."

The nurse nodded. "Better get Burn Heal, then," he muttered to himself. "You'll need to update your Trainer IDs."

"Actually, I don't have an ID."

The nurse didn't miss a beat. "Alright, then you'll need to fill out this form while you wait for your Pokémon to be treated. It won't take long, and if you need help, flag down our Munna. It's an expert with paperwork."

"Thank you." Roma pulled Merla to a chair and they both sat down. Roma took to filling out the form, but called the chunky, pink-and-floral-patterned tapir Munna over soon after starting, asking what a "Dob" was. It led him over to a whiteboard and picked up a marker with a sparkling cloud coming from its long nose.

"It just doesn't make sense," Merla said, shaking her head. She looked up, and found herself in the Pokémon Center without knowing how she got there. "Huh?"

"I agree," said a man sitting near her, looking at the wall. "I mean, it's very beautiful, certainly, but why put it in a place people should be healing?"

"W-what?" She looked at him, a man in a three-piece suit with bright yellow hair. "Um, I'm sorry, I was thinking of something else." Merla looked at the wall in question, and at the painting Nero had made for the Center.

"You were? My apologies for disturbing you." He turned stiffly back to the wall.

"No, it's no problem. What did you mean?"

"Well," he said, turning back as stiffly as before, "the items used for pigment here have been ground into a paste and applied to this stretched, natural material, correct?"

"Um, I don't know. I've never learned how they make paint."

"I see. Well, suffice to say, these materials the artist used here are hazards to the health of its creator. So why use them?"

Merla looked at the man. "Um, is paint really that poisonous?"

"It is, indeed," he replied. "Things like cadmium and lead are quite toxic for humans, and to many Pokémon, as well. And yet, items of this nature are displayed all around the world. Is it truly worth the risk?"

"Well, we're all mortal, after all," Merla said. "Taking a risk like that doesn't seem too strange if you think about it like that, I guess."

"Ah, then art should involve some element of danger? That confirms my suspicions." The strange man turned back to it. On the canvas were two low-down gray-and-red Pokémon, surrounded by something bright and yellow. Beneath it was the label, "The Lovers of Pyroclasm". "I see, I see. I must ask for you to excuse me. My people did not create such art - we preferred to produce safer pottery." He stood up mechanically. "Well, thank you, young woman. I certainly appreciate your time and expertise in this." He walked out the center in a jerky, stilted way, leaving Merla dumbfounded.

"Uh, I'm not..." She slumped back, drained. What had she even been thinking about before... that?

"Hey, Merla." Roma said. "Our Pokémon are ready. You want to come with me?"

"Huh?" Merla felt her beltline. Sure enough, there was a distinct lack of Pokéballs at her waist. "When did-"

"You gave them to the nurse on autopilot. You were thinking about something, so I just brought us here."

"I did?" she said, standing up. "I thought I was getting better about that, too."

"Everything seems alright," the nurse said at the counter. "Your Pokémon were exhausted, Mr... Pomadoro. Neither of them were burned, though. If you'll be heading out soon, I'd recommend stopping in our Poké Mart," he said, pointing to a store at the left of the entrance. "We've got medicines and potions for the road - Pokémon food, too."

"I'll be making my own food," Roma said. "We'll just be picking up medicine."

"Um, Roma, I'm going to need your help picking some food out."

"Why? I'm already making it."

"For my Pokémon, too?"

"Yeah? That's what I thought we were doing, going north to Morchella and then to Matsuke."

"O-oh. I hadn't thought we were still going together."

"Does that mean you don't want to?"

"Well, no-"

"Alright then," Roma said. "We're not going to need the food they sell in the mart, then. I can make it on my own."

"You sound pretty sure," Merla muttered as they crossed the threshold into the Pokémart section of the Center. 

"Hey there, Merla!" called the clerk at the counter.

"Oh, Leif!" Merla walked over to the counter. "How've you been?"

"Oh, can't complain," he said. "Who's this? Your friend from Portobel?"

"Exactly," Merla said. "Roma, this is Leif. He's in the Intermediate Class at the Trainer School, like I was."

"Yeah, well, I'm not a test-taker like you. I've got to take the exams again next year."

"This is Roma, Leif. He - well, we - just earned our first badges."

"Oh, congratulations! Guess that means I won't be seeing you around the school now, huh?"

"I guess not. Sorry."

"Nah, it's great!" He waved his hand. "You're on your way. Now, you've got your IDs?" They brought out the small cards. "Alright, one second." Leif punched in the numbers with a practiced hand. "There we go. Now, what are you two getting?"

"I'm getting two Pokéballs, and two Potions," Roma said.

"Uh, I guess I'll get the same," Merla said.

"You can get more if you need them," Roma said. "I need to replace what I used, so that's all I'm buying."

"You only used one."

"I only needed one, but having the extra is a good idea."

"Right, I suppose," Merla said. "I'll take... three Pokéballs, one Potion, and two Antidotes."

"Yes, ma'am," Seliph said, ringing the items up. "That'll be ¥2100. Will you be paying in cash?"

"Yeah, hang on." Roma pulled out two bills and a coin. "This should cover it."

"Yes, sir. Have a nice day!"

"Roma, you didn't have to pay for my things, too," Merla said as they walked out the center.

"We're about to buy a lot of other stuff. You're going to help me pay for that. The medicine's not that big a deal."

"What else are we buying?"

"A tent, camping gear, a stove... I don't plan to sleep on the ground. Do you?"

"Uh, no."

"Hey!" A man brandishing a large stick came running down the path, chasing some small, brown creature. "Get back here, you little - !"

Roma stepped in his way as soon as the animal was behind him. "What's going on here?"

"Out of my way! That damn bug ate half my potting soil!"

"Bug?" Merla asked. She looked at the supposed bug, now hiding behind Roma's leg. Sure enough, it was some kind of baby Bug-type Pokémon, a nymph. Its body was round and segmented, with two brown bulbs on its back, and it had two larger grasping claws at its front and four legs behind. "This is a Paras, isn't it?"

"I don't care what it is!" the man said. "That thing's gotta cough up the soil it ate!"

"Why do you need the soil?" Roma asked.

"It's my livelihood, man! I grow berries for a living."

"Really?" Merla asked. "What kinds?"

"Mostly cooking berries - Cornn, Magost, Rabuta, and Nomel."

"Do you grow others?"

"No, the people around here don't really ask for much else."

"Do you think..." Merla continued talking, but Roma tuned her out.

Roma kneeled down to the Paras at his feet. "So, did you like the dirt?"

Paras nodded.

"Well, what was the best part? Was it crunchy?" Paras shook its head. "Was it soft?" It nodded. "Was it sweet?" A shake. "Dry?" A nod, an enthusiastic one. "You like dry food, then. Well, if you'd like to come with me, I can make sure you get as much dry food as you like. How does that sound?" 

The Paras nodded once. Roma took out a Pokéball and tapped it against Paras's head, and it swirled into the ball. The ball shook once, twice, three times, and clicked.

"Roma?" Merla turned to him. "Hey, did you-"

Roma took out his Pokégear. "She's female. Alright. Rash Nature, that makes sense. 'Likes to eat'. Merla, what does that mean?"

"Uh, its strongest stat is HP. Roma, did you just catch that Paras?"

"Yeah. Enoki wanted to come with me, and I wanted her to come with me. Is there a problem?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Alright." Roma stood up. "I guess let's get going, right? We've got another mouth to feed, after all, and the store isn't getting any closer." He started walking again.

"Roma, wait!" Merla turned to the man. "I'm sorry, Pear, he's not usually this-"

"Hey, it's no problem. He's takin' that bug, right? Nothing wrong with that. I'll give this Liza a call. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Merla jogged after Roma. "Hold on, Roma, I'm still over here!"

An hour later, as the two of them left the store, Merla lamented, "That took almost every Pokédollar we had."

"We'll get more money."

"Are you sure about that?" she said. "What did you even get, anyway? I know that I'm carrying the tent - the single tent - and all our water, but I didn't follow what you got."

"I've got all the raw food and the cooking stuff. Of course, the fire starter's somewhere in your pack."

"Why am I the one carrying it?"

"The tent isn't flammable. The food is. I'm not making that mistake again."

Merla blinked. "What? What do you mean, again?"

"Huh? What are you ... talking about?"

"Roma, when was the last time you kept food by a fire starter?"

"I, uh, can't remember." It was a transparent lie, even if it was technically true.

"Don't give me that, Roma. You haven't been camping once since you moved to Portobel. You were too young to handle it then, we both were. So when did you pick up experience using something like that, and with food, no less?"

Roma took a step back, shrunk into himself a bit. "W-well, I haven't just been sitting around, doing nothing, y'know. Who's to say I've never practiced with them?"

"That's a really flimsy argument, Roma."

"But you can't tell me that I haven't, can you?"

"There isn't a store that sells magnesium fire starters in Portobel."

"So? I could've bought it here!"

Merla swung her arm out. "You never leave my house when you visit!" She pointed at him accusingly. "You've been acting really strange, Roma, and you're going to tell me why!"

"Strange?! What do you mean, I'm still me, Merla!" Roma pointed his hands at himself.

"Are you really?" Merla narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure how, but you're not the same person I talked to four days ago. What changed, Roma? Why do you know so much about battling?! How did you beat Nero like that?!"

Roma spluttered. "Is that what this is about?! Merla, me beating him was mostly Snowcap and Kasho-"

"Don't give me that crap! That strategy was something you couldn't have come with on the fly, you had to have practiced it!"

"How could I have had the time?!"

"Sure." Merla whirled on her heel. "Whenever you're ready to tell me the truth, let me know."

At the dinner table, Merla tore into the skewered meat with vigor. Roma pushed the food around his plate, eating slowly.

"Everything alright, Roma?" Ms. Traub said. "You've hardly touched anything."

"He took a fall today," Merla said, eyes downcast. "Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Oh, no. Are you alright?" She got up from the table. "Do you feel any pain anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine," he said. "I just got a little excited during my battle, that's all. Maybe the adrenaline's wearing off, or something."

"I'm not the nurse's kid," Merla said, "but adrenaline doesn't last that long."

"Whatever." He looked at Ms. Traub. "I'm not feeling very hungry. May I be excused?"

"Sure, honey. Get some rest - you'll need it for tomorrow." Merla scoffed as Roma got up from the table and walked to his room.

As soon as the door closed to the guest room, Merla's mother turned around. "Alright, young lady, what is going on?" she said in that harsh-but-whispering tone only a mother can seem to get. "You know better than to be rude to our guests, and especially to yours!"

"We ... had a fight. He's keeping something from me, and I don't know what it is."

"Is that it? Merla, I know you're Concord's daughter, but people are allowed to have secrets. You don't always have to find out everything."

"I know, it's just-"

"You need to apologize, Merla. Go over to his door, and say you're sorry."

"What? Mom!"

"No buts, young lady. You were in the wrong, and you need to make sure Roma didn't get hurt too badly by whatever you said."

"... Yes, ma'am." Merla got up from the table and walked down the hall.

Merla's mother nodded. "Alright, since we're all done eating, I guess I'll watch the news." She walked into the living room and turned on the TV.

Merla sat with her back to the door into Roma's room. The TV's chatter kept the air from getting too heavy, but Merla struggled to find the words anyway.

"Merla?" Roma's voice came from behind the door before she could. "It's alright. I already heard. You don't have to apologize."

"So, what am I supposed to say here?"

"You ran ahead of yourself again?"

"Yes! I shouldn't have said something so... terrible. It wasn't fair to you. I'm just feeling..." Merla held her hands out. "frustrated, I guess."

"Because I beat Nero too easily."

"No- well. Sort of?" She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Why does this have to be so hard?"

"Honestly, Merla, that didn't bother me, anyway. People have said worse to me."

"I know. So what is?"

"Today just doesn't feel like it's... really happening. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep and wake up exactly where I was four days ago."

"In Portobel?"

"Heh, no. Definitely not." Roma looked across the room at a ball on his bed. "That wouldn't be a problem. That'd be great, really."

"So, what? What are you going to wake up to?"

"I don't know. I'll let you know when I figure it out."

Merla raised an eyebrow. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Merla, I can't really think right now. Today's been really rough. I know this is a cop-out, but can I tell you tomorrow?"

Merla sighed. "Alright, but I'm holding you to that, Roma." She stood up from the base of the door, and walked into the living room.

"Hi, sweetie. Made up?" Ms. Traub was laying on the couch under a blanket.

"Well, we're getting there. He's going to bed."

"Well, thank you for taking the first step. It's important to try to admit when you did something wrong."

"So, what's on the news?"

"Oh, just some story about a new dig site in the mountains."

"What did they find?"

"I'm not sure, but it's being sponsored by Lucky Pig."

"CEO Felix Tatum has stated for the record," the newscaster said, "that this find should should shed some light on the mysteries of 400 years ago. In local news, two trainers won against Gym Leader Nero Kaesaru..."

"Why does that man care so much about these dig sites?"

"I don't know. I guess everyone has a hobby. I'm going to bed."

"Alright, sweetie." She gave her daughter a kiss goodnight. "I'll just call your father, and be right behind you."

Ms. Traub switched off the TV and stood up. She picked up the house phone on the table and dialed a familiar number. "Yes," she said, "I would like to be connected to Concord Traub. This is Isabella Traub... He's out? Alright, well may I leave a message..."

Another television, in another town, turned off five minutes after. The person who turned it off took out a Pokégear and dialed. "I saw the broadcast. Did you?" she said.  
...  
"Yes, sir. I remember their names. Don't worry. I'll find them."  
...  
"Yes, I'll make sure to do that. You haven't got anything to worry about. They won't get away from me." She put the Pokégear away, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isabella Traub's name comes from the Isabella grape, used in the making of "foxtrot" wine. It's generally pretty musky, from what I hear.
> 
> Concord Traub's name comes from Concord grapes. I personally think of jelly first whenever I hear of them. They're actually a version of the same grape as the Isabellas, if you can believe it!
> 
> Now's a good time to mention: I've changed a few parts of the type chart around involving the Ice, Grass, and Fairy types.  
> Ice resists Electric, because Ice is an insulator.  
> Ice resists Flying and Dragon, because it's already super-effective. It just feels right giving Ice one less issue, since it's so weak.  
> Ice is no longer weak to Rock, for the similar reason of giving the Ice-type one less headache. They're finally usable in Stealth Rock again! (I wish. I love Lapras.)  
> Grass resists Fairy, and Fairy is weak to Grass. In stories about the fair folk, things like rowan and herbs were said to repel them. (Also, Fairy needed to be taken down a peg.)  
> Grass is now weak to Rock, because without weak Ice, Rock's special targetting is remarkably poor. I'm justifying it with mortar and pestles being used to grind herbs. (Huh, that means Grass and Rock are mutual weaknesses! Haven't had that since Gen I with Poison-Bug.)  
> Ghost resists Fairy, too, because they're both kinds of stories. When you listen to a Ghost story, a Fairy tale doesn't do much to assuage you.  
> Fairy resists Ghost in return, for the same reason.  
> Fairy no longer resists Bug, because what Pokémon even needs that? It's not even thematically appropriate!
> 
> This could be controversial, but some of the things I've thought up benefit from these changes. I'll remind readers in the before notes about the changes for relevant chapters, so that no one's lost.


	10. Pass in the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma tells Merla a little about the former future, but are interrupted. They find a familiar someone guarding a fishing hole.

"I always knew this day would come." Isabella stood with her daughter at the town's gates. "I just didn't think it would be now. Merla, you've grown up so much. Remember that, no matter what happens, you've always got a home here." She gave her a hug.

"I know, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too." She broke the hug. "Make sure you come back happy. That's what's most important."

She waved as the two of them walked away, and headed back home, wiping tears from her eyes.

Merla waited until the town gate was out of sight, then turned her head straight to Roma. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"No. I'm still not sure what I'm doing here. I mean, somehow, I'm supposed to make something happen, but I'm not sure what, or why - well, why isn't so much of a mystery, but-"

"Alright, then start with that."

Roma nodded. "Alright. I guess I should tell you. You know where they hold the Pokémon League?"

"Lucky Castle, all the way north?"

"Yeah, there. Well, they've got this big door that opens out to the Victory Road."

"It's a seige gate. They're used to keep out ground attackers ... at least, I'm pretty sure that's what Mr. Nero called it."

"Is that right? Well, it works."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"At some... point in the future, the gate's going to close."

"What?!" Merla stopped and turned her whole body to him. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just know that it's going to happen."

She took a step toward him. "How?"

He took a step back. "I don't know that, either."

"No, how do you know this? Did you get some kind of ... tip-off or something?" Merla realized something, and her eyes burned into Roma with a renewed fire. "Wait, does that phone call you made have something to do with this?"

"Uh, well, not exactly. I'm just meeting with that guy to talk about what we should do."

"Is that right?" She was uncomfortably close now, pushing Roma against a tree trunk with her sheer presence. "Well, then, how do you know what's going to happen?"

Roma took a deep breath. This was the least credible part, and he knew she'd try to pick it apart if it had any flaws. "The reason I know is because I met-"

"Hey, excuse me!" Roma's attention was stolen by the man who'd said that. He was walking up from another tree, carrying a guitar case, and had long blond hair. "Either of you met a gal named Eileen?"

"No," Roma said, thankful for the respite from Merla's piercing eyes.

"I'm afraid not," Merla said, annoyed. Now was a terrible time to get distracted, while she had her eyes on something strange.

"Ah, damn." He kicked the ground. "Alright, thanks anyway." He turned and started walking back, case slung over his shoulder.

"Wait," Roma said, desperate for an out, "who is Eileen?"

He turned back around. "She's my date. I met her online three years back, and she said we could walk to the fishing place a little farther up the route."

"A fishing place?" Roma asked. "Would those be regular fish, or fish Pokémon?"

"Heck if I know. Never been, myself. This was gonna be our first in-person date, too."

"Well, if we find her," Merla said, "we'll be sure to let her know you're looking for her, Mr..."

"Oh, right. Name's Kevin." He held out his hand, and Merla shook it. "Good to meet you."

"Same to you," Merla said. Turning back to Roma, her eyes shot back to piercing. "Now-"

"Uh, Keith, do you have any badges?" Roma said. 

Keith nodded. "Yeah, I've got Perigold Town's. I'm guessin' you do, too?"

"I've got Nero's, too. You wouldn't happen to be up for a battle?"

"Well, it's not like I've got a lot to do," he said with a shrug. "What's your name?"

"Roma."

"Huh, like Roma Pomadoro? Does that make you Merla Traub?" he said to her.

"Yes, I am." Merla turned to see Roma opening a bag of soil and feeding it to Enoki. "What are you- Wait, when did we buy that?"

"We didn't. I picked up the bag that guy dropped for Enoki."

Merla sighed wearily. Of course he did. "Alright, Roma. Sorry, Kevin. He does this sometimes."

"Nah, it's no problem. My Pachirisu's pretty cute, so I get it."

"A Pachirisu? What other Pokémon do you have?"

"I just got a Shinx. But what about you? You got a Fire-type, I remember."

"Yeah, I do. I guess they said it on the news, then?"

"Yeah, and he's got a Grass-type. They didn't say anything else, though."

Merla nodded. "In that case, battling me might be more difficult. My other Pokémon is a Procstrapi - Electric/Flying."

"Really? You're probably right. Then again, Roma's is Ground-type."

"No, he just picked her up. The other Pokémon he used was Water-type."

Kevin raised his eyebrows. "Well, sounds like a pretty good match, then," he said with a smirk. "Hey, Roma!" Roma looked up. "You ready to battle?"

Roma nodded. Anything was better than Merla interrogating him like that. He rose to his feet and started following Keith and Merla.

"I guess I'll have to be the referee," Merla said.

Roma got to his feet. "Alright. I guess let's battle. You don't have any Fire-types, do you?"

Merla sighed. "Roma, pay attention next time. Alright, since you probably didn't hear it, this is..."

The three of them stood apart in a clearing , with one lone tree growing off-center. "Alright," Merla said. "This'll be a two-on-two Single battle. The challenger, Kevin, will be using his Pachirisu and Shinx, and his opponent, Roma, will use his Laurelus and Poliwag. Neither of you can use items, but you can switch out your Pokémon. If you get more than a hundred yards from the tree, you forfeit. Do you both agree?"

"Sounds good to me." Kevin opened his guitar case and took out a Pokéball.

"I agree."

"Alright. Both of you, send out your first Pokémon!" The ball Kevin threw held a small, blue cat with dark grey fur covering its back half and a yellow star at its tail tip. Roma brought out Snowcap. "Roma gets the first attack."

"Alright, Snowcap, let's start with Tackle!" Snowcap burst forth in a gray light.

"Shinx, you use Tackle, too!" The two of them met in a clash of gray, heads lowered, teeth gritted. Snowcap dug into the ground with her hooves and flung the Shinx into the air. "Whoa!"

"Razor Leaf!" Snowcap hurled a whirl of leaves into the air, their cutting edges raking across the Shinx's body. It landed on the ground with gritted teeth. "Alright, Snowcap! We've got this!"

"Shinx, use Spark!" It shook its fur out and pounced with a harsh look and an arc of electricity surrounding it. Snowcap turned to her side and let the attack hit her flank, then bashed the Shinx with a quick Leafage from her flank. It flew back and struck the tree, stumbling on its feet. "Ah, crap!"

"Snowcap, let's finish it off!" Snowcap snorted, then charged with lowered horns in a Tackle. She slammed the cat back onto the bark, and it slumped down, unconscious.

"Shinx is unable to battle!" Merla said. "The victor is Sn- Laurelus!"

Kevin returned his Pokémon to its ball. "Arc, this's gonna be tough, innit?" He switched the ball in his hand with the one in his case. "Right, Pachirisu, let's rock!" The Pokémon that emerged from the ball was small and cute, white fur with blue accents, and a bushy tail befitting of the squirrel it was. "Let's use Spark!" It rubbed its cheeks and leapt at Snowcap, electricity now arcing around it, too.

Snowcap pushed the Pachirisu away with her side, then gave it a kick with her rear leg. It tumbled back, coming to a rest by the tree. The Pachirisu shook its head, then dashed behind and clambered up the tree, shaking its branches as it went.

"Alright, Pachirisu. Take a breather up there, then use Nuzzle when you're ready!"

"Nuzzle?" Merla said to herself. "Wait, isn't that-?" The branches of the tree began to rustle, and a bug of some kind flew from the canopy.

"Snowcap?" She turned back to Roma and nodded. At that instant, a tree branch flung itself down, launching the squirrel on it downward and directly onto Snowcap's back. Snowcap whirled and twisted, trying to buck the squirrel off. It skittered all around her body, dragging its cheeks across her fine green hair. As her bucking slowed, the Pachirisu dismounted, trying to land behind her. It took two hooves to the body for the attempt, a sharp kick despite her shaky movement.

"Snowcap, what happened?!"

"Nuzzle does that," Kevin said. "It's an attack that always paralyzes whoever it hits - well, unless it's Electric-type."

Roma looked at Snowcap. Sure enough, the telltale sign of paralysis - arcs of static electricity - was going around her. That would be a problem for her, lowering her speed and leaving her a sitting duck. "I'm going to switch her out," he said, bringing out her Pokéball and returning her to it. "Alright," he said to himself, "guess I'll bring out - oh, wait. Merla, didn't you say that I-"

"You've got to bring out your Poliwag. Kasho, wasn't that his name?"

Roma nodded. "Right, thanks. I knew there was something." Roma pulled out Kasho's Pokéball. "Alright, Kasho, let's do this!" Kasho emerged from the ball in lotus position with his eyes closed, as he had before. He stood to observe his opponent - a Normal-type, perhaps, from the color of its fur, though those blue accents could indicate an Ice-type? He turned to Roma and nodded, awaiting his orders.

"A'right, Pachirisu. Let's go for Nuzzle again!" The Pachirisu rubbed its cheeks, spraying static. Kasho, who knew he was way off, took that as his cue to leap backward out of range. The Pachirisu dashed forward, switching to all fours for extra speed.

"Keep away from those cheek pouches, Kasho! We're probably going to need some kind of insulator!" Kasho continued his backwards advance, moving past some tree in the middle of the field. If he had to guess, that was where the battle was supposed to happen. Kasho stole a glance behind, and even though he didn't know where the field stopped, it had to be coming up soon. He had to think of something, and fast!

Some kind of pulse went through Roma and Kasho at that instant. Kasho knew exactly how to stop the electricity, because Roma did, even if he didn't know he did. Kasho flipped forward while still leaping backwards, and as he landed he dug into the ground with his spinning, ice slowly growing on his body.

"Ice Ball?!" Roma shouted. Kasho erupted forward and smashed into the Pachirisu, knocking it clear away and against the tree. As the ball of ice drew closer, the Pachirisu braced for the impact.

"Pachirisu is unable to battle!" Merla said after it was over. "The winner is Poliwag, and the victor is Roma!"

"Jeez, I didn't stand a chance, huh?" Kevin said, taking out a few coins for prize money. "Guess I shouldn't've expected to beat you, huh? Shows what I get for not believing the news."

"Speaking of," Merla said, "did you hear about that dig site they found?"

"Yeah, I did, but that's about all I know. Well, that and it's off Route 10, or something."

"Yeah, over by Mt. Milkcap. If you had to guess, what could be there, do you think?"

"Wouldn't know," Kevin said with a shrug. "I'm from Shallot City, over west of here."

"Oh, in Allia? Did you come in through St. Amanita?"

"Nah, I came in through Ostreatus City."

"That's pretty far. Though, I guess we'll be heading that way, too."

They continued talking as Roma treated Snowcap and Kasho's injuries, and congratulated them on a well-won battle. He stopped when he came to Snowcap's static-filled fur. "Hey, Merla, do we have anything that cures Paralysis?"

Merla paused, then opened her bag. "Sorry, Kevin. This should only take a second..." She stopped rummaging and sighed. "No, Roma. I don't have anything."

"What do the berries we have do?"

"Aspear cures freezing - we've got two of those - another Rawst for burns, and an Oran berry. I hate to ask this, Kevin, but would you happen to...?"

"Sorry, Merla," he said. "I don't normally carry that kinda thing. Electric-types, y'know."

"Ugh, right. They can't be paralyzed. Well, thanks anyway."

"Yeah, no problem. Sorry, guys. And if you guys run into Eileen, could let her know I went home?"

"Alright. See you around, Kevin."

"See ya." He began walking back down the road to Perigold Town, waving over his shoulder goodbye. Roma and Merla continued walking north.

"So Roma," Merla said, looking at him.

"So Merla," he replied, bringing his eyes from the pollywog meditating on his head.

"That was pretty quick thinking. Ice insulates against electricity, so-"

"It does? Huh, yeah, it does. I forgot about that."

Merla blinked. "Wait, you didn't remember? Then why did you call Ice Ball?"

"I didn't. Kasho came up with that by himself. He's pretty smart." Kasho smiled, despite himself.

"He did? How often had he been in contact with electricity to know that on instinct?"

Kasho shook his head. "Guess that was the first time, then." Roma said.

"Then how...?" Merla trailed off, trying to figure it out.

They continued walking in silence, until Roma saw a fence sectioning off the trees. "Please, I need to know." A young woman was pleading with someone ahead. Roma started walking along the fence, and pulled Merla over to it, too.

"I need to know," she repeated. "Why can't Ms. Tilapia see me?"

"She's, uh," said a man at the door, "in a meeting with my boss, as far as I know. Real important... probably. Can't interrupt it. Sorry, Girlie."

"But I need to get in there! Something important's happening today, and I can't afford to miss it!" Roma took a peek at the girl, who pulled out a wallet full of large bills. "Make an offer, and I'll pay it, I swear."

"Hey, wait. Let's not get hasty," the man said. "There's other people in there, you know. You can't afford to pay them all off."

"Are you sure about that?" she said.

"I couldn't be surer. And when you don't, they ain't gonna just let you go. If you go in there, you don't get out free and easy. Stash yourself close by until we clear out, and I promise you won't be making a date with destiny."

Roma blinked. A date at the fishing hole? Could it be... "Eileen?" he said, pushing off from the fence. "Are you Eileen?" Merla jolted and tried to pull Roma's arm, but it was too late.

"Huh?!" The woman whirled to face Roma.

"Who's there?!" The man dashed out the entryway, and his attire said something to Roma for sure: a grey jumpsuit with bright blue paint in odd lines.

"You!" Roma ran up, Pokéball in hand. "What's going on here?!"

"Think that's my line, bub. Who are you?" He pulled out a Pokéball of his own.

"That's not important. Now, you're going to tell me why you closed up the Pokémon League, and you're going to do it now!"

"What? Pokémon League?" Merla said. "That's right, you still haven't-"

"You're wasting your time, whoever you are. They don't tell the door guy anything!" With that, he threw out a small, deep purple, legless bat with spotted wings. "Rich Girl, I'd recommend backin' up a bit. This'll get violent, and you don't wanna ruin your nice clothes."

"The door guy?" Roma muttered. The guy guarding the door had a Zubat. That didn't mean ... Roma looked at the man's head. Sure enough, he was wearing a hair net. Huh, earlier then Roma had expected. Now, if only he could remember his name. "Alright, then. Go, Snowcap!" She emerged from her ball and shook herself awake. The static coursing through her fur made her shudder a bit, but she stared with determined eyes at the bat flapping in front of her.

"Let's try this again. Who the hell are you?"

"Roma Pomadoro. I'm here to keep ... whatever this is from happening." His tone had gotten softer, but he didn't break a fighting stance. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Like I told the rich miss over there, I don't know. I just guard the door."

"Yeah, I know. Your Zubat is the only Pokémon you have, and you keep its ball at the pouch by your waist. You can't beat someone with three Pokémon. I'd stand down if I were you."

He flinched, but recovered quickly. "Yeah, right! Zubat, Astonish!" The bat swooped in and, in a flash of purple, clapped its wings together in her face. Snowcap jumped back, seemingly startled, then used the feint to push it down to the ground in a sharp headbutt. The Zubat flailed wildly, but Snowcap pinned its wings to the ground with her hooves, a gleam in her eye. The man pushed himself against the wall of the building. "W-what the-"

"Are you going to cooperate, or do I need to start telling Snowcap what to do? Then again, she seems to have this under control." Snowcap looked back and nodded.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Roma Pomadoro, and I'm supposed to try and fix things. I just don't know how, yet."

"Roma, what the hell are you doing?!" Merla said. "Is this what the problem was?!"

"I mean, probably. I guess we can find out when we interrogate whoever's inside. Well, when you interrogate them, you are better than-" Roma began to walk inside, and Snowcap let up on the Zubat, letting it fly back to the jumpsuited man.

"What?! What are you talking about, Roma?! Explain! Who was that guy?!" She ran in after him, her voice echoing in the lobby.

"Oh, I just remembered." Roma peeked out the door at the man. "Your name was Ramson, right? You should take that hair net off." He threw a glass bauble of potion at the man. Ramson caught it clumsily, and slid down the wall to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kevin's name comes from Kevin Rowland, the co-founder of the band Dexys Midnight Runners, and the writer of their famous song, Come On, Eileen.
> 
> Eileen's name comes from the song in question. Other than that, I'm not basing them on the people in question. (Good thing, because Eileen doesn't actually exist!)
> 
> Ramson's name comes from bear-claw garlic, so named because it's a brown bear's favorite kind of garlic, apparently. Boars also love the stuff ... not that I've given some to a boar recently. Those things are dangerous!
> 
> I think I've picked a definite position for Agricales to be. So from now on, it's situated over what would normally be the Louisiana coastline et al. It's a lot more mountainous then marshy, flat Louisiana, but then again, there isn't a desert in France, either; topology and environmental science has never been Pokémon's strong suit. Allia, the region's western neighbor, will be covering part of Texas.
> 
> Next time: I caught a sea bass! See? Bass!


	11. Lord of the Fishing Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma finds out what the mysterious group's name is. He, Merla, and their leader fight.

"Ah, seems like we have visitors!" A voice came from the intercom speaker, male and deep. "If you two could please make your way to the main office in the back, I think we can talk this out. You'll have to head through the moon pool ahead of you, if you don't mind."

"How does he know where we are?" Roma asked.

"Probably surveillance cameras in the ceiling." Merla pulled the bandana around Roma's neck. "Let's find a place where we can be more private, first."

"H-huh?!" Merla dragged him through the lobby and into the public bathrooms on the right. "Merla, what's going on?"

"Alright, I think you need to start explaining. Now."

"Is now really the best time, Merla? We're kinda in the-"

"Roma, you explain. Or there isn't a 'we' here, it's just 'you'."

"I... right." He nodded. "You need to know this much, at least."

"Alright, so you said they're planning to close the gate into the Pokémon League?"

"Yeah."

"But you don't know how."

"Yeah."

"And you about to tell me how you know this stuff." Merla crossed her arms. "So, spill it."

Roma swallowed. "Right. Well, the reason is because... I'm from the future."

Merla's face didn't change. "Really? You're from the future? Can you prove it, or are you just lying to me?"

"I'm telling the truth, I swear."

"Alright, so tell me something only someone from the future would know."

Roma wracked his brain for something that he remembered from the future. He came up blank. "I don't know."

"Of course you don't."

"Merla, I don't pay attention to current events. You know that!"

"Yeah, I do. But I'm not an idiot, Roma. Time travel? You and I both know I'm not gonna fall for something so stupid!"

"What's there to fall for?! I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah, sure you are." Merla started walking out the bathroom, and sighed. "Look, I'll respect your right to privacy right now, but after all of this," she geatured to the room around them, "is said and done, I'm expecting a real answer."

Roma sighed, then began to follow her. He jumped at a noise that come from outside the window, but he figured it was just some Pokémon moving around.

"Ah, there you are! My special guests." The man lounging in the chair by the "moon pool" was large, muscular. He had a black, curly beard and was wearing a gray jumpsuit with the same blue paint in the same markings, but the sleeves had been completely ripped off. "I was startin' to think ya wouldn't make it. Was'matter, makeouts didn't work out?"

Roma recoiled in disgust at the suggestion. "No, we're here for you. Who are you, anyway?"

"Well, ain't it rude to ask someone's name without sayin' yours first? Eh, then again -" He shrugged "- I'm not such a stickler for etiquette." He wrenched himself from the chair and stood in a single motion, landing with a boom. "Guess you're here fer the fishin'? Well, I'm afraid we scared the fish away for a bit, with all our traipsin' about an' such."

"Don't change the subject!" Merla said. "We asked who you are. Talk!"

"Man, bundle 'a sweets, ain'tcha? The name's Bazz. I'm an ol' friend 'a the proprietor's, an' I rented the place out fer a couple days. We were just discussin' payment, when you showed up."

"And why does my partner here seem to think it has something to do with closing the Pokémon League up?"

Bazz's eyebrows shot up. "What the-"

Merla pounced. "So you do know something! Alright, you can drop the act, and tell us what we want to know now, or in prison. It's your choice."

"Whoa, hey, what are you talkin' about? I'm not doin' anything illegal here, kid." He made sure to emphasize the word "kid". "I'm about to head out, anyway. We came up bust. You don't gotta worry."

"That's not happening!" Merla pulled out a Pokéball. She threw it out and Zapp emerged from it, a bundle of nerves and feathers. Where was he, anyway?! "Surrender!"

Bazz, contrary to what she'd expected, let out a hearty belly laugh. "Ga ha ha! Man, you wanna get into a battle? Here and now? Yeah, I got time, kid. Yer 'partner' over there can even join in, if he likes. I got a pal who'd love to get inna scrap!"

"A Multi Battle, then."

He pounded his fist into his palm in a deafening smack. "No holds barred, except us hitting people. Sound good, kid?"

"You're on!"

"Arright, then." He pulled out a small, thin can from his pocket, then swung it once. The can expanded into a metal fishing rod, which Bazz rested his arms along. "Allow me to introduce myself properly, then. I'm the Lord of the Fishing Hole, Fortune Admin Bazz!"

"Fortune?" Roma said. "That's what they're called?"

"You're telling me you went charging after these people when you didn't know their name?!" Merla said. She sighed.

The pool they would hold the battle in was called a moon pool, but was more like a "half-moon" pool, seeing as it covered only half the area. The other half was plain, marshy land, which surprised Roma. There weren't many marshes around this area, after all. "If something gets caught there, it'll spell trouble," Merla cautioned. "Try to push them down."

"They probably won't let me try."

"No, they won't. Don't pass up the chance if they lower their guard."

"Let's get things started, shall we?" Bazz strung a green-and-black ball onto his fishing rod and cast the line, sending out a grey tube of a fish with a wide, blue mouth in a green, web-shaped burst. His companion held a normal Pokéball containing a frilly white-and-red fish with a sharp spike jutting from its head.

"Barboach, and Goldeen," Merla said.

"Barboach? Like Roe's? Didn't you say -"

"Exactly." Merla smirked. "I'll leave that one to you. I've got the Goldeen."

Roma nodded. "You got it." Snowcap walked in front of Roma, and Zapp took his place in front of Merla. Bazz and his 'pal' took their places.

"Ready, you two?" Bazz said. "We'll go first -"

"Peck!" Merla shouted. Zapp swerved forward and jabbed the frilly fish with his glowing beak.

"Oh, izzat right?" Bazz said. "Arright. I did say no holds barred. Barboach, Icy Wind!" The grey-tube fish inhaled a deep breath and fired a blue-lit puff of freezing air.

"Snowcap, dodge right!" Roma called, but as she leapt, her leg twitched from the static surrounding her. So shocked, she crumpled to the ground, and was hit in the face by the whole blast. She shivered, and her leg twitched again. "Oh, no!"

"This isn't good - Snowcap's already gotten slowed from the paralysis," Merla said, "That Icy Wind won't help."

"What, does it slow her down more?!"

"Yeah -"

"Goldeen, use Horn Attack on the goat!" It leapt out the water at the command, flipping through the air. The horn on its head began to glow with a white light.

"Zapp, knock it out the air with Thunder Shock!" Zapp flew in, mouth agape and pulling electric energy together.

"Barboach, Icy Wind!" It launched another bright puff of air, this time at Zapp's diving form.

"Evasive maneuvers, Zapp!" He closed his beak and spun around the air with ease. The Goldeen struck true into Snowcap, taking an acrobatic leap back into the pond. A red trail followed it along the ground, and the water tinted around it. "That was a cri-"

"Snowcap!" Roma shouted. "This isn't going to happen! Not here! Use Mille Feuille!"

"What's Mille -" Merla started to say, but the deep green glow that enveloped Snowcap brought her attention elsewhere. "Zapp, return!" Merla held the Pokéball out and brought him back, just in time for Snowcap to erupt in a wild mass of foliage. The pool became covered in a thick cover of leaves, though most of them flew this way and that, raking even the humans across their bodies. Merla huddled close to Roma and crouched low to the ground, hoping that would make her a harder target.

When the leaves settled, three things had changed: the Barboach and Goldeen now laid in the water, unconscious, Snowcap's knees had buckled, and she hadn't gotten any shorter despite it. On closer inspection, she'd actually gotten taller - no, that wasn't it, Merla realized. She hadn't just gotten taller - she'd evolved! It was so much more obvious now - her fur had striated, seperated into a mid-green and a starker white. Her horns had gotten longer, too, and they were covered in frost. "This could be good," Merla said. "She might be able to handle things better now. Now, what was that you just did, Roma?!"

"It was Mille Feuille. We came up with it for Nero's Gym challenge - well, you did. She uses up all of her Leafage and Razor Leaf, and makes a super powerful attack. You said it would be a good panic button."

"Really, I did?! If that's even true, why use it now?! We just started fighting!"

"I panicked! Isn't that what you use a panic button for?"

"No! It's for an emergency situation where things seem dire - like it's the difference between a win and a loss!"

"Uh, shouldn't we...?" said the man next to Bazz.

"Let 'em fight while we change our Pokémon out," he said in sotto voce. "We might get a sucker punch out of it, too."

"Roma," Merla said, "using that move put us at a severe disadvantage! We just lost type-effectiveness! Unless you've got some Ether you're hiding, too?"

"No, I haven't got anything like that. Merla, I'm really not hiding anything from you."

"I'm sure," she said sarcastically. "I'm still don't -"

"Carvahna, Ice Fang!" shouted Bazz. The blue-and-red spiky fish leapt from the water and bit into Snowcap's top. She cried in pain, and started bucking from her sitting position.

"Snowcap, use Ice Shard!" She planted her feet firmly into the ground, and arched her back. The Carvahna dislodged itself quickly from Snowcap's now-ice-spike-covered back and tumbled into the water.

"Ice Shard?" Merla said.

"It's the first move she learned when she evolved. Now, I can't do this alone, Merla! Send someone in!"

Merla blinked. "Right." She switched the Pokéball in her hand. "We're not done."

"We don't have to be."

She nodded. "You're right. Go, Curio!" She sent out the fanged deer, who took a moment to figure out the scene before him. That was probably Snowcap, that was a fish in the water, a pink slug on the land, and two other people. Whoever they were, Curio didn't care; he awaited Merla's orders. "Attack that Shellos, with Burst!" Curio fired a burst of gray energy at the small slug. He'd figured that sounded like something called a Shellos.

"Dodge it, Shellos!" It leapt into the air to the right, tumbling onto the marshy ground. "Now, use - "

"Snowcap, pin it down!" She surged forward and knocked the Shellos off balance, tossing some mud around as she pushed the Shellos into it. "Merla!"

She nodded. "Curio, Burst it, again!" He launched the attack, energy striking the two Pokémon in the marsh. Snowcap grit her teeth, but took the attack.

"Carvahna, Ice Fang!" It leapt from the water again, and got hit by an expertly-timed Burst from Curio, knocking it to the ground, just as helpless. "Return!" He brought it back to its blue Pokéball. "You kids're pretty good. Sadly, this's gotta end here. Chacha, let's wash these guys away!"

"Chacha?!" The grunt turned to his boss. "Are you sure?"

"I sure am." He hurled the rod, and the Pokéball on the line opened to reveal a blue, oblong fish with cross-shaped eyes and two dangling yellow lights.

"A Chinchou?" Merla said. "Really?"

"Chacha, let's use Thunderbolt on the goat, yeah?" The Chinchou rubbed its antennae together and fired a bright yellow bolt of lightning. It flew across the air in the blink of an eye and struck Snowcap in the side, sending her sprawling into the mud.

"Snowcap!" She struggled to right herself. "Hang on, Snowcap. You did great," Roma said as he brought out her ball. "Take a good rest." The beam it let out brought her back in. "Battling, huh?" he said with a smile to Merla.

"Now's not the time - Curio, use Ice Fang!" He clambered up to the Shellos and bit into it with ice-covered teeth, tossing it into the air. It fell to the ground and laid still. The grunt brought it back to its ball. "Burst the Chinchou now!" He fired at it, and succeeded in pushing it down into the water. Get Kasho out," she said. "We've got to keep it at the surface."

Roma nodded. "Kasho, you've got this!" Kasho emerged from his ball in lotus position. "Get in the pool and push the Pokémon in it up to the surface, okay?" He nodded and jumped in. Swimming down to the deep parts of the pool, Kasho looked around for any signs of his target. It wasn't so tough to track, though - broken reeds and upturned mud showed clearly what direction it had gone. He followed the trail of carnage to its end and met the blue fish that had made it. It was sluggish and hurt - clearly whatever had hit it was effective.

It hadn't noticed him yet, so Kasho took a moment to weigh his options. Ice Ball - it would be tough to get traction in this environment. Hypnosis - not so good as a surprise attack. Water Sport - completely useless. Water Gun, then - it wasn't ideal, but it worked. He took in the water around him and launched a gush of water at the enemy. It hit dead on, knocking it in its back and into a stone on the pool's floor. He did it again, pushing against the hard stone. He prepared for a third attack when it turned and smacked him with its antennae.

Kasho moved back, and fired again. It got closer. He fired again. It wasn't even phased. Again. No effect. Deciding this wasn't the best time to attack, he turned tail and swam to the surface.

Kasho broke the surface of the pool and started to swim to the pool's edge. "Something doesn't seem right," Merla said.

"What doesn't?" Roma said.

"Why is Kasho up here without the Chinchou? Did something happen?"

"Chacha, Discharge!" Bazz called.

"Oh, no." That was all Merla could say before the moon pool lit up in a spray of electricity. Kasho stopped swimming.

"Kasho? Kasho?!" The world began to spin. Roma ran over to the pool - or tried to. The ground lurched from beneath him and his legs refused to catch him. Crawling to the edge of the pool, he picked his Pokémon up, holding a finger to his mouth. He was still breathing. Roma offered up a prayer to whoever was listening. The world was still spinning, but he barely managed to get to his knees, cradling Kasho in his arms.

"Whoa." Everyone present looked at Bazz. "I did not expect that, I gotta say. I gotta apologize to ya, kid. I didn't mean for -"

"You could have killed him!" Roma threw himself to his feet and came towards Bazz seeing red.

"Hold on, kid!" Bazz held out his fishing pole and Roma ran into it. He crumpled to the ground. "Let me explain before you try to kill me. That was a freak accident. Chacha's Ability is Water Absorb, and I take it your Poliwag knows at least one water move, yeah?"

Roma didn't answer. "He knows Water Gun," Merla supplied.

"Water Absorbers take in water attacks and it heals 'em up - and that's what happened here. A full power Discharge in water's got a really high voltage. That wasn't what I was trying to do. I'd like to make it up to ya, though, so I'm not lettin' that happen again. Sound good?"

Roma nodded.

"Arright, so let's get back to the battle. C'mon, get up." He held out a hand for Roma to take. He didn't take it. "Was'matter? Too proud to let me help ya up?"

"That was," Roma croaked out, "my solar plexus."

"What? Ah, sh - sorry, kid. Here." He grabbed Roma by the shoulders and hauled him to his feet. "You good?"

He let out a wheeze. "Be fine," he said. "Scuse me." He hobbled over to where Merla was. "Hold him, please," he said, handing her Kasho's unconscious body.

"Right, okay." She took him while Roma got his ball out and returned him to it. "So, what now?"

"We keep fighting," he said. "Can't let her down." Roma took out Enoki's Pokéball - his last ball.

Merla nodded solemnly. "Alright. Let's get ready."

"Wingull," the grunt said, "you're up!" The ball he threw had inside it had a white bird with a yellow beak and long, straight wings with a blue band around each. "When you two're set."

"Fine," Merla said. Roma brought out Enoki. She shivered her body, and blinked. The truffles on her back wiggled with her. "We're ready," Merla said.

"Arright," Bazz said. "Chacha, Beach!" The Chinchou surfaced from the water and rode a small wave onto the shore. Standing up on its two hind flippers, it stepped slowly over to Bazz's spot. "We're set," he said.

"Enoki, Mud Slap!" Roma shouted. The Paras clapped her hands in front of her and sprayed a puddle of mud at the Chinchou. The wet, marshy mud clung to the fish's eyes. It tried to blink it away.

"Curio, use Burst! He fired into the air at the Wingull, who on a call from her opponent, dodged out of its path. "Try to lead your shots, Curio! Aim where it will be, not where it is!" Curio nodded and adjusted his aim.

"Chacha, use Thunderbolt!" After taking another volley of mud from Enoki, Chacha rubbed its antennae together and let lose a bolt in the blink of an eye. It diffused into the ground harmlessly, around ten feet too early. "What?! No, the mud in her eyes!"

"Curio, keep firing, but switch to Ember for the practice shots!" Merla called.

"No, you don't! Wingull, Water Gun everything!" It swooped down to spray a blast of water into Enoki's face. A burst of purple and sky blue knocked it to the side.

"What?!" Every participant in the battle turned to the source of the Wing Attack. The perpetrator was a man dressed in one of the Fortune outfits. He stood in the doorway, a hairnet in his hands, and his stark-white hair flying freely past his shoulders.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "I was giving my statement."

"Ramson!" Bazz said. "'Bout time you showed up. Wanna help make this battle a little more one-sided?"

"Bazz, I'm not here for you," he said. "I'm here for those two." He pointed at Roma and Merla. "This girl named Eileen called the police, and you haven't paid the lady here for letting us use the fishing hole. Technically, you're trespassing."

"... So, that's it? You're done workin' with us?"

"I am. Sorry, boss. The jenny's outside for you. Like I said, I gave 'em my statement already. So's that rich girl, Eileen," he said, walking up to Roma and Merla. "I'm goin' with these guys. No hard feelings?"

Bazz didn't say anything at first. He just returned his Pokémon to its ball. After a long second, he sighed. "Nah, guess not. Do whatever's best for yerself, Ramson." He collapsed his fishing pole and walked over to the door out the fishing hole. A woman in a police uniform intercepted him, saying something like she would question him about his involvement. The grunt followed him, but shot Ramson a withering look on his way out.

Eileen came running in. "Are you two okay?" she asked. "I'm so glad you didn't get hurt."

"As am I," said someone else. The group turned to see a woman in a fishing vest walk down the steps to the main office, as they were labeled. "I have to apologize for the inconvenience. My name is Tilapia. Bazz was a friend of mine, and I was letting him search my ponds for something."

"For what?" Merla asked.

"I'm not sure," she said. "He never told me. I just know he didn't find it here. We were just discussing payment for my time, when I'm afraid Eileen showed up."

"I called the police because I didn't realize what was going on," she said in reply. "I wish I had, I could have helped."

"I'm not sure you really could have," Merla said. "Those Pokémon had been trained, and probably chosen specifically for whatever it was they were doing here."

"Well, I could have at least helped by supporting you," she said. "Ah, speaking of, here." She reached into her bag and pulled out a yellow flask of liquid. "For helping Ms. Tilapia out. It's Full Heal."

"Thanks," Merla said, but Roma snatched it up first and in a flash set it into the applicator. He sent out Snowcap and started to spray. As the bottle emptied, Snowcap's twitching slowed, and the static around her body dissipated. He switched out flasks and started spraying Potion on the Pokémon that were out.

"Well, the least I can do is offer to put you up for the night," Tilapia said. "I don't want you to get into trouble tonight."

"We'll have to take you up on that offer," Merla said. "I'm just about exhausted."

"No problem," Ramson said. "I'm good with that."

"I'll be heading off, then," Eileen said. "I've got to talk to Kevin and let him know what happened today." She walked out the door to Route 3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bazz's name comes from bass (the fish).
> 
> Tilapia's name comes from the fish of the same name.
> 
> Medicine in the Pokémon games is interesting to think about. Potions and Ethers are highly effective medicines, able to heal a Pokémon by a standardized and absolute amount, and for some reason they were named by someone with the sensibilities of a Dungeon Master. I wonder who would have come up with something like that? (From a Watsonian perspective, of course. Doylistically, it's an RPG, so the items were named accordingly. But that's just boring.)
> 
> Next time: Run that one by me again?


	12. No Time To Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma, Merla, and new ally Ramson go over the events of the previous few days, and speculate about what exactly Team Fortune wants.

"So, you said your name's Roma." Ramson said. They sat in the bed room at the fishing hole. "And you're from the future?"

"Right," Roma said. It was a dark night; the moon was invisible in the sky, and the stars, as many as there were, did little to help them see. The overhead lights were a shade of yellow that bordered on annoying, but they were more than bright enough to see by. Fishing equipment littered the ground and more than a few of the beds.

"You got any proof?"

"No," Merla said. "He doesn't. Do you really believe him?"

"Eh, call it Devil's Advocate. It's not like I got a lot of options now, anyway. Already threw my hat in with you."

Merla pointed at him. "I'd like to ask you a few questions about that, if you don't mind."

"Alright, yeah. Shoot."

"What exactly does this 'Fortune' do?"

Ramson shrugged. "Man, I don't know. They only tell their guys enough for them to know what they gotta do. Not really so much'a the whys and wherefores."

"The wherewhats?" Roma said.

"It's just another a word for why," he said. "So, all I know is what Bazz told me. It's just our best guess at this point."

"And Roma," she said, "you still haven't given me a good answer. I still don't believe that you got brought back from the future somehow."

"I swear, I did! What would it take for you to believe me?"

Merla thought for a second. "Well, first of all, how did you get back to this time?"

"A Pokémon helped me. Celebi."

"Celebi?" Ramson said.

"You know what it is?" Merla asked.

"Yeah, I saw a movie about it once. It was-"

"Wait." Merla got out a piece of paper and ripped it in half. "A blind test. Each of you, write down something about Celebi, and I'll see if you're telling the truth."

The paper Roma had written on said, "Celebi - Grass-Psychic??? Really strong. Travels through time. Little, green, cute. Onion shaped head," in Roma's chicken-scratch handwriting. "You never did learn cursive, did you, Roma?" she muttered.

Ramson's paper, by comparison, said, "Celebi is a Grass-type. It can pull tree roots together to make a monster. It brought a kid forward 50 years into the future. It was small and green, and looked like a shrine maiden." His penmanship was very fine.

Merla said, "Well, it's plausible. Still, I'm not completely convinced. This isn't conclusive evidence by any stretch."

"But you'll at least listen?" Roma said.

"For now."

Roma smiled. "Alright, so... what do we do now?"

"We don't know anything about their main objectives," she said. "Our best strategy for the time being is to continue as normal, and await further opprotunities to get information from Team Fortune."

"'Team' Fortune?" Ramson asked. "Guess that works." Ramson brought out a phone. "Well, if we're standin' by, might 's well check Mystery Gift."

"Mystery Gift? What is that?"

"It's this geocaching app." At their mystified expressions, he continued, "Basically, people put things in these containers in different places around the world. Then they tell people about it, and then the people they told try to find it. This's an app for people that do this kinda thing. See?" He showed them the screen, and the groups of people around the world who posted on the site at all hours. "I can even filter it by region. It really helped when I was living in Vidalia."

"Vidalia?" Merla asked. "You're from Allia?"

"Yep, came in through St. Amanita, too," he said, poking through a forum. "Nice place. We should visit on the way up."

"Yeah, sure," Merla said, pulling out her Pokégear. "You said it was called Mystery Gift, right? Could be useful. Roma, you should get it, too."

"I probably wouldn't use it," he said, but he brought his own Pokégear, anyway. Before he opened anything, though, he noticed that an icon on the screen was flashing. "Oh, right, Celebook."

"Cele...book?" Merla stopped what she was doing and looked at Roma's screen. "What is that?"

"It's this thing I got from something back at the Fishing Hook Inn. It didn't really seem helpful, though. It just said what we'd agreed to do for people. See?" He tapped the icon and handed the Pokégear to Merla.

Merla squinted. "Roma, I can't read this at all." Roma looked at the screen, green against green. Sure it was tough to read, but it wasn't impossible.

"Look, there, it says we've got a new Sub objective." He pointed at the "Sub" menu, which was flashing a bright green. "See? It's flashing."

"I can tell something's flashing, but not really what. Ramson, can you take a look at this?"

Ramson got up from the ground and walked over to them. "No, can't make heads or tails of it."

"Really?" Roma said. "Let me see it." Merla handed the Pokégear back to him, who started tapping around. "Okay, I've got it right here. "'Gone Fishin'!: Find Sam people who know Fishing Rods. Met Bazz.' and 'Com-"

"Wait, what?!" Merla stood up. "What do you mean, 'met Bazz'? What does he have to do with Mr. Sam?"

"I don't know. It doesn't say anything about that."

"What's the other one?" Ramson said.

"'Come On, Eileen: Bring Kevin and Eileen together.'"

"Eileen? The rich girl who wanted to get into the Tilapia Fishing Hole?"

"Seems like it," Merla said. "Well, we've got her number. Are we supposed to call her?"

"We don't have Kevin's, though," Roma said. "He paid cash for our battle, remember?"

Merla snapped her fingers. "Right. Rats, that might've worked."

"I don't we'll be able to do that one," Ramson said, hands behind his head. "Not unless we can go back in time." He started to say something else, but a 'ping!' from Roma's Pokégear stopped him short. "Wait, what?"

"'Time Travel Function primed.'" he said. "Does that mean..." Roma tapped the screen.

"Wait!" Merla shouted, arm outstretched, but he'd already activated whatever it was. The world exploded into bright green sparks, and Roma and Merla found themselves standing in front of a familiar man with long blond hair and a guitar case.

"Sorry, Merla, I don't normally carry that kinda thing," he said. "Electric-types, y'know."

Merla blinked. "W-what? Where- What happened?"

Kevin scratched his head. "What do you mean? Roma just beat me in a battle." He looked around. "Looks like Eileen isn't comin', is she? Right, guess I'll head back to Perigold. See ya." He turned around and began walking.

"Wait!" Merla shouted.

He turned back around, confused. "Huh? What happened?"

"We can take you to where Eileen is. I promise it won't take too long."

Kevin scratched his head again. "Uh, I thought you didn't know her."

"I-I just remembered. I know where Tilapia Fishing is, and it's the only fishing hole around here. She'd have to be there, right?"

"I... guess that makes sense. Alright, let's go."

"What just happened?" Merla whispered to Roma as they walked. "Are we really..."

"We have to be, don't we? Snowcap's still paralyzed, and a Laurelus, too."

"I guess that clinches it, then. We must have traveled back in time."

"What're you two whispering about?" Kevin asked.

"N-nothing!" The wire fence soon became visible, and Eileen's pleading became audible.

"We're here," Merla said. "There she is, at the entrance." She pointed, and Kevin jogged ahead.

"Eileen?" Kevin called. "Is that you?"

"Huh? Who is-?" Eileen turned to him. "Is that you, Kevin?"

"Yeah. How you doin'?"

"I'm doing... alright, I suppose. I'm sorry I kept you waiting, I was just passing by Ms. Tilapia's place, and then this guy said they were closed today, and- and-"

"It's alright," he said, holding her arms. "I'm just glad I finally get to meet you in person."

"Three years is a long time to date without ever meeting someone in person," she agreed, blushing.

"Don't worry," Ramson said. "We're going to take care of things here. Your date's gonna go on as planned."

"Why should I trust you?" Kevin said. "From what I just heard-"

"He's with us," Merla said. "We're after the group that captured this place. He needed to maintain his cover, and it would've been bad if a civilian were to get into a compromising position."

"O-oh," Eileen said. "Well, then, thank you, Mr..."

"Skordo. This's Merl, and Roma."

"Merl?" Merla said. "We never discussed-"

"Well, thank you all the same. Here," she said, drawing a bottle of Full Heal from her inner pocket. "It's not much, but I'll be able to thank you properly later."

"I'll be taking that," Roma said. "This'll help Snowcap."

"We already know that you can do this without using it, though," Ramson said. "Do you-"

Roma stared at him with a dark expression. "Uh, think I could just shut up?" he finished.

"Let's not," Merla said. "Kevin, I'll need to get your number in case we need to call you in the future."

"Hey, yeah, sure." Kevin wrote it on a piece of paper Merla handed him. "Here you go, Merl."

"Merla, please." As the paper touched Merla's hand, an eruption of green sparks appeared in the air.

"I'm blind!" Ramson shouted as the light faded, leaving an inky blackness.

"We're back?" Roma said. He got up and turned on the light to the room.

"I guess we are," Merla said. She looked at her contacts on her Pokégear. "Kevin's number. I must have put it in."

"Well, there we go," Ramson said. "Incontrovertible evidence. I believe that exonerates Roma of lying, don't you?"

Merla nodded. "I can't deny it, this is pretty big. Alright, Roma. I have to believe you."

Roma sighed in relief. They could finally put that whole mess behind us.

"Do you think we'll be able to do that again?" she said. "We could be able to correct all our mistakes. We'd be practically invincible."

"I doubt it," Ramson said. "When we went back just now, we had a specific mission, remember? I said somethin' like 'We can't fix that, not unless we can go back in time'. If I had to guess, we can only do that when we've got something specific we want to fix."

Merla nodded. "You're probably right. Still, to that end, we could have to repeat doing things until we've got them down perfectly, if that's what it took to prevent whatever it is."

"Time travel ain't exactly known for bein' a free-and-easy superpower, no.

"Well, I hate to put a damper on things," he said, "but I'm beat. Let's get some food in, and head to bed for the night."

Roma woke up at sunrise, as always, and went through his usual morning routine. Merla and Ramson awoke to the smell of grilled fish, and left the room to find him cooking breakfast. "Morning, you two. How'd you sleep?"

"My arm hurts a bit," Merla said. "The beds here aren't so comfortable."

"I slept like a baby," Ramson said with a cheeky smile.

"That's good. Breakfast is fish. How do you take yours?"

"Heavy on the grill," he replied. "I wanna be able to taste the fire."

They soon finished breakfast and greeted Tilapia.

"Good morning, you all," she said. "I'm glad I caught you before you left. I'd like to thank you again for yesterday. It's a shame that they arrested Bazz, though. He was a good man."

"How did you know Bazz, anyway?" Ramson asked as Roma put on another fish.

"Oh, he's an old friend. I used to work out in the Ramaria Sea, and Bazz helped me out of a bind once."

"We being figurative here, or did you actually get tied up?"

"They bound me to a mast," she said. "There's a lesson, kids: never steal from pirates without a good getaway scheme."

"Still don't know what he wanted?" Merla asked.

"I'm afraid not. It's possible he needed something from deep in a pond, but I couldn't tell you what. He never shared it with me."

"Really? Well, what do you have in these ponds?"

"Mostly just regular fish. For Pokémon-related items, we've got a vial of Mystic Water, and besides a Pearl or two ... that's about it. Of course, not that Kevin and Eileen could catch anything, with all the noise Bazz had made."

"Kevin and Eileen?" Ramson asked. "Those two lovebirds? I- think you were watching them closer than we were. What exactly happened that you saw?"

"Oh, no. Well, I was, but nothing too interesting happened. No first kiss, or anything. They just fished for a few hours, didn't catch anything, and left."

"Huh. So, nothing we needed to know," he said. "Thanks."

"Of course!" Tilapia smiled.

"Fish's done," Roma said, lowering it onto a plate.

After everyone was finished, the three left the fishing hole after saying their goodbyes.

"So, what's the plan today, you two?" Ramson asked. "I'm good with anything you've got."

"Right," Merla said. "We should continue heading to Morchella. To do that, we'll have to go through Buna-Shimeji."

"I've never been. What's it like?"

"They're very old-fashioned. I think they've actually got something going on right now, but I can't remember what."

"Not that big a deal?"

"No, it is. I just can't remember it. The last time I was there, I was around eight years old. I went with Ms. Pomadoro and Roma."

"Really? I thought Roma told the jenny he was from Portobel Town. He'n'is mom walk all the way, or..."

"Huh? No, he's from Perigold Town, like I am."

"He is?"

"We moved there," Roma said.

"Yeah? Why?"

The question brought a silence from the both of them. "...What, did I say somethin' wrong?"

"Let's move on," Merla said. "Do you really only have the one Pokémon?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like I ever used one before. They gave me that Zubat when I signed up. I don't really know much about raisin' it, though."

"Him."

"Huh?" Ramson turned to Roma. "What do you mean, 'him'?"

"Your Zubat's male. His fangs are longer," Roma said, poking his own teeth, "and for Zubat, that means it's a male. 'Him'. 'I don't know how to raise him'."

"Dude, you barely saw i- uh, him. Were you really paying that close attention?"

"I didn't have to. I got a good look at them back at the Pokémon League, and I took another look after the battle yesterday. He wasn't very badly damaged, so I gave him a treat or two."

"You have treats?"

"He makes them," Merla said. "He's pretty good at it, too."

"I could've told him that."

"It's not polite to brag about yourself, Roma. Just trust me."

Roma shrugged. "Well, whatever. I'm afraid I'm still working on the right blend of food for him, so he'll have to settle for sharing with one of our Pokémon's."

"You don't have to do that, man. I can buy food."

Roma reacted as if he'd been physically struck. "Don't say that! Ugh!" His face curled in disgust. "I swear I can make food better than any store-bought brand."

"Well, I just mean you're probably pretty busy, so-"

"I'm already making all the other Pokémon's food, and I don't need to waste the space with that junk. We've only got so much space, remember?"

"Well, yeah. If you're sure."

"Of course." They continued walking in silence for a while, Ramson picking around on his phone.

"Hey, that's pretty close!" Ramson looked up. "There's a Mystery Gift around here. Mind if I...?"

"We can walk with you," Merla said. "Which direction is it in?"

"Right over this way. Come on!" He took the lead, bringing the trio to the north west and into slightly denser woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's talk about time travel. More specifically, let's talk about how utterly screwed up it is in videogames. Why is it that in Majora's Mask, Link can bring the Bow back, but not any of his arrows? Yet, the quivers he finds are fine? What's the logic? (I know what it is - mechanical convenience. Let's face it, having to grab the Bow every cycle would suck, but arrows are all over the place.)
> 
> In Radiant Historia, you can move back and forward through time practically at will. But, at the same time, your characters never gain or lose levels depending on where you are in the timeline. (Not to mention the Raynie quest - oh, jeez, the Raynie quest!) Your characters only ever get stronger, they never get less powerful because you jumped back to Alma Mine and Rosch was level nine back then, so he should still be now, right? (Again, mechanical convenience. Having to relevel your characters is boring and frustrating, but having their levels stay with you while you travel is just a narrative hiccup.)
> 
> All complaints aside, time travel's a pretty great plot device and mechanic. I really like it, and it lends itself to a variety of narratives. (See: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors; Virtue's Last Reward; Steins;Gate.) It's worth the headache.
> 
> Next time: What is a yam?! A miserable little pile of starch!


	13. Tastes So Sweet Potato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma and Merla have a time at the Sweet Potato Festival, but are interrupted by someone who works there.

Ramson held two cartridges in his hand around the size of a fingernail. The gray one was labeled "TM 050" and the yellow one, "TM 056". "Well, it was a pretty good find, right?"

"It would be even better if we knew what they were," Merla said. "Right now, we can only take a guess."

"They don't have this kinda thing online?"

"The TM system in Agricales is very different compared to any other region," she explained. "For starters, we have more than one hundred TMs."

"Really?" Ramson asked. "How many to you have?"

"Last time I checked, we've got 112. But then again, the only way to know is when an article shows up in the paper about it."

"Huh. Why so many?"

"From what I was taught, they're trying to play catch-up with other regions. Their TM Readers don't work here, for some reason."

"Really? Why don't they?"

"Who knows?" Merla shrugged. "And I guess, since they can't get the old readers to work, they decided to use cartridges instead of discs."

"Pretty sure these're more stable, anyway." Ramson put the cards into his pocket.

"Speaking of TM Readers," Roma said, "we're probably going to have to buy one in Matsuke. I'm pretty sure they haven't got any available in the Buna-Shimeji Pokémart."

"That's such a long wait, though," Merla said.

"What can you do?" Ramson shrugged. "Can't change the past, right?"

"Oh, if only," Merla said sardonically. Ramson let out a laugh.

Buna-Shimeji was a town steeped in rich tradition, and surrounded by rich soil. The volcano the town was built at the base of probably had something to do with that last one. Agricales was most known abroad for its excellent produce - specifically, its sweet potatoes. People from as far away as Kalos could identify them from their raw taste alone. Of course, sensible people cooked them first, and they cooked quite well, having beautifully browned skin and fluffy, sweet, purple insides.

Of course, you can only store a sweet potato for so long before it spoils. A long time ago, it became a tradition to cook all the last of them before they did. After a few hundred years, it became a festival the whole town participated in.

"The Sweet Potato Festival!" Merla said as the town came over the horizon. "Now I remember! Oh, it brings me back." She smiled warmly.

"Sweet Potato, huh?" Ramson put his hands in his pockets. "What's so great about 'em?"

"Well, for starters, they're purple," she said, moving ahead. "And they taste delicious - you'd have to have no sense of taste not to like them."

"Well, consider me looking forward to it."

"Looks like we got here before the festival's over," Roma said. "I didn't get to see it last time."

"We should go around the festival," Merla said to him. "Please, Roma?"

Roma rolled his eyes a little. "Sure, Merla. We can do that," he said with a smile.

"Yes!" She gripped his arm and dragged him ahead, despite Roma's protests of Hey, Wait! and That hurts, Merla!, leaving Ramson behind.

"Uh, yeah, so I'll just ... okay." Ramson walked off in a different direction, the better to give the lovebirds some space.

"What looks fun to you, Roma?" Merla had pulled him straight to the game area. "I think I want to do the shooting gallery."

"Whatever you want, Merla. You're the one paying for it." He shrugged. "I haven't got a lot in my pockets right now, you know."

"Right, right." She hadn't heard him. "Then you're good with the shooting gallery?" She tugged him over to it. "Two, please."

"Yes, ma'am," said the person manning the booth as he collected two coins and handed them both a slingshot. "Just hit the target once to win. You get three pellets, and if you hit the center, you'll get a special prize."

Merla pulled the sling back to her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as her eyes darted around, searching for the optimal method to ensure a bullseye hit.

Roma threw a pellet at the target and it landed dead center. "What do I win?"

"Sir, you have to use the slingshot," the attendant said.

"You didn't say I had to."

"It was implied."

"You didn't imply it to me."

"Regardless, if I hand you a slingshot-"

Merla let her pellet fly. It sailed through the air, right on target, and then - a slight shift in the wind? - its flight path stopped short and hit the third ring from the center. Merla sighed.

"Congratulations, ma'am. You win. Here's your prize - a can of Lemonade." He handed her a yellow aluminum can emblazoned with a wedge of citrus of it.

"Thank you," she said, taking the can.

"Do you really need a can of Lemonade?" Roma asked her as she put it away.

"I can use it to heal Pokémon," she said.

"You can?" Roma's head turned to the attendant. "I want a can of lemonade, too."

"Sir, you didn't win."

"I hit the center."

"You didn't hit it with a slingshot, sir!" He started saying something else, but he ducked as Roma threw the slingshot over his head at the target.

"Okay, now what?"

"No, that's not - Argh!" He gripped his forehead.

"What's all the commotion?" A man in a cowboy hat came walking up.

The attendant looked up. "Oh, my apologies, sir. Just an issue with a customer who didn't. Win. Anything," he said pointedly. Switching back to all-smiles, he said, "How may I help you?"

"Well, this's the shootin' gallery, ain't it? I'd like to give it a try, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, sir. It's ¥100 a play." The cowboy flipped the attendant a coin, who caught it clumsily. 

The cowboy picked up the slingshot Merla had set down and twanged the band a few times, slinging what seemed to be imaginary bullets. "Yeah, I see." He picked up a pellet and tossed it into the air, catching it with his other hand. "Alright, then." He slung the pellet into the band and pulled back, firing without aiming it at all. Despite that, the bullet sailed true, striking the dead center of the target.

"Congratulations, sir! You've won the center prize. Would you like to try again?"

"What's the point of that?" Roma asked.

"If he hits the bullseye three times, he gets our Grand Prize." The man gestured to the solidly-colored, solidly-locked box behind him. "But if he misses once, he can't just choose to take the center prize instead. He's gonna gamble it on the chance to win, basically."

"Why didn't I get that?"

"Roma, you threw a slingshot at him," Merla said. "He's not gonna let you try again."

"I didn't throw it at him, I threw it over him!"

"I'll do it," said the cowboy.

" _You'll_ throw a slingshot at him?"

"I'll take the Grand Prize," he said.

"Yes, sir," the attendant said. "I wish you good luck."

"Save it," he said. He tossed the second pellet in his hand, then slung it and fired. Just like he'd thought, it was a perfect bullseye, just like the last one.

"Congratulations again, sir. Would you like to take the center prize, or continue to the final bullet?"

"I'll keep goin', thank you." He picked up the final bullet, and hesitated for a fraction of a second. The attendant didn't catch it, but Roma and Merla both had. He threw the pellet into the air a few times, and nodded. "Let's see." He pulled the band back, keeping the pellet in his hand. He let the band go, and it seemed to pass inspection. The cowboy pressed the final pellet into the band and pulled back.

It went high, Merla saw. The pellet was on its way to the ring two above, when something strange happened - it curved down, just hitting the lowest part of the target's center.

"W-well, I know I said this already, but congratulations, sir!" The attendant pulled a key from his pocket, and the locked box at the tent's back. "Please, the contents of our Grand Prize Box are yours! Go ahead and open it," he said, handing the key to the cowboy.

"Alright, let's see here." He put the key into the lock at the box's top, and lifted its lid. He put his hand in and pulled out a small, brown cartridge. "Number 85, huh? Tch, I've already got one of these."

"It's a TM?" Roma asked.

"Number 85," Merla said. "I'm pretty sure that's Stealth Rock."

"Indeed it is, little lady. You got a copy?"

"No, sir, we don't."

"Are you asking," Roma said, "because-"

"Yeah. I ain't got a use for it, anyhow. Don't need to sell it, either. Here." He flipped the TM like a coin at her, and she caught it out of the air.

"Thanks a lot, Mister..."

"Ah, William McCarty. Call me Billy." He held out his hand. "Everybody else does."

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr. McCarty. I'm Merla." She shook it.

"Thanks for the TM, Billy," Roma said. "They wouldn't let me try to get it."

Merla turned to him. "You threw a slingshot at him, Roma!"

"Whether or not he did," Billy said, "I don't think you would've been able to win it. After all, the game's rigged."

The attendant jumped. "W-what? What are you talking-"

"The third pellet I slung was hollowed out on the top. You don't have to deny it, I know this is just your job." He walked away with the duo. "Still, ain't such a bad racket. No one'd ever notice unless they were real meticulous about their slingshots. I am."

"How good are you?" Roma said. "Besides the weighted ball thing, I mean."

"Well, you can take my word that I can take a minute to sling twenty pellets at fifty paces and make one hole."

"That's quite the image," Merla said. "Do you work with slingshots regularly?"

"Eh, sometimes. I'm a freelancer, really. Whatever people want me to do, I'll do if the pay is right."

"Does that include crime?" Roma asked.

Billy laughed. "They wouldn't pay me what I'd want, but I'll admit, my moral compass turns towards huge piles of money sometimes."

"Well, at least you admit it."

"Yeah. So, guess I'll see you at the tournament little later in the week?"

"A tournament?" Merla asked. "I think we can make time for that, can't we, Roma?"

"Probably, yeah."

"Okay, I'll be cheerin' you on. See ya, kids." He gave a quick salute and sauntered off.

Roma and Merla continued walking. "So, where are we going?" Roma asked.

"I was following you."

"Obviously, I don't know, though. So-" He was interrupted by his stomach growling. "Guess we should find some food, huh?"

"Sounds good." 

Merla led them to a food stall somewhere, and they sat down and ate. Roma had gotten a paper bowl of sweet potato ramen, and Merla had sweet potato slices and beef on a stick.

"It's a good thing neither of us are on a diet," Roma said. He took a sip of the broth. It was sweet and earthy, with just the right amount of salt.

"You said it," Merla replied, tearing a chunk of meat off with her teeth. "Can't believe I forgot about this," she said with her mouth full. "How old were we? Eight?"

"Just about, I think. I remember our moms were upset."

"Yeah, Dad was stuck in Unova." She smiled. "You didn't really do much, though."

"Crowds of people. I did like the fireworks, though."

"Yeah, Nero really outdid himself that year." She pulled a sweet potato piece off the stick. "It feels like forever ago."

"It's been eight years - that's about half our lives ago. It makes sense."

"Yeah, but still. I haven't really been able to see you, not since ... you moved."

"Yeah. It's been a while since I could just walk over to your house." He set the empty bowl on a table and lied back. "I've missed it. It's not like there's anyone to talk to in Portobel."

"Yeah, Sam and the professor aren't exactly great conversationalists, are they?"

"Whatever that means." He sat up. "I guess we should find that tournament and sign up, right?"

"Right." They started walking.

"So, where are we going?" Roma said, after walking aimlessly for ten minutes.

"I was following you," Merla said.

He turned. "Why were you following me? I don't know where we're going!"

"Then why were you leading?"

"I wasn't! I'm lost!"

"Well, we're going to have to find where we are now. Stay with me while I ask someone." She walked up to a booth and made an inquiry. "And that's how we get to the tournament sign-up?"

"Yeah, but they've probably got all the spots filled up." The man scratched at his beard. "I'd hurry."

"Will do. Thank you for your time." She led the way, and in five minutes was in the right place for the tournament.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the official said. "We've got twenty-eight people in the tournament already, and the last four spots are reserved."

"Reserved? For who?"

"For certain participants who have called ahead. I'm sorry, Ms. Traub. You won't be participating. Please, we hope you enjoy watching from the crowd."

"All that effort," she lamented, "and we're too late."

"Yeah, it sucks." Roma shrugged. "Oh, well. We'll have to take it, or hope that someone'll cancel."

"Here's hoping. Well, we've got time now. Do you want to see what's around here?"

"Sure." 

"We're not buying this," Roma said. They were arguing over whether to buy something at a medicine stand.

"What? Why not?"

"Have you tasted it?"

"Why would I eat Heal Powder?"

"Exactly - it's disgusting. No Pokémon should be forced to eat it."

"Well, we can't buy Full Heals, Roma. It's this or nothing."

"Well, then, it's nothing."

"We don't have the choice-"

"We do, and I'm making it. We're not buying it, and that's final." He walked off.

Merla dropped her voice, and said, "I want two lots of Heal Powder, in a sealed case."

"Of course, ma'am," said the clerk. He wrapped two squares of powder and put them in a plastic container. "That'll be ¥1500."

"That's not the number I got. Don't try to scam me."

"Guess you want your friend to hear, then?" The clerk cupped his hands and inhaled.

"Wait, wait, shh!" Merla waved her hands frantically. "Fine." She dug a bill and a coin out of her bag. "You're a crook," she said as she tossed them to the table.

"'Crook' is an ugly word, ma'am."

"Do you care if my money's good?" she said, contempt dripping from her voice.

The clerk pretended to think. "No, not really. Thanks for your patronage." He pulled the money from the tabletop, and changed it out with the register's money.

Merla caught up to Roma. "This place is full of criminals."

"It really is. Man, I didn't think this place was that bad when I went through here last time."

"We were eight - Oh." She tapped her head. "Well, you weren't here during tourist season last time, Roma. Criminals gather where people are."

"Are those your detective instincts talking?"

Merla laughed. "I wouldn't call them that, but it feels like common sense."

"I'm sorry to hear your festival's been so crummy," said someone behind the two of them. They turned around to a woman with bright white-blonde hair and wearing a smart silver dress. "Hi, I'm Nikki. The organizer asked me to come check on things while I was here. May I ask your names?"

"Uh - I'm Merla. Merla Traub."

"Roma Pomadoro." He held out his hand, which Nikki shook.

"Merla and Roma... I'll try to remember those names," she said with a nod. "Which parts, exactly, did you have a problem with?"

They told her about the problems they'd been having at the festival, between the cheating to the tournament. "Hm, yet another bad report," she said, writing it all down. "You're right - a public tournament like the one here shouldn't be reserving places. And having at least two places cheating our clientele ... We'll be taking immediate action. Thank you. As a reward, why don't you come with me? We can sort a few things out there, and I think it's about time you meet someone working here who's actually honest."

She led them through the festival grounds and to a great oven at the center of the festival grounds. "Didn't we pass that on the way here?" Roma said.

"We passed it a few times, but that's not important."

Nikki rang the doorbell to the building at the oven's base. "Pop! Are you there?"

The door opened to reveal a short-bearded man in purple overalls, wearing a thick apron and thicker gloves. "Ah, Nikki! I've got bad news, I'm afraid."

"That can wait. It's come to my attention that your suspicions were right - there are some people setting up booths here that are using criminal and unfair practices. I've compiled a list of the offensive booths, and am drafting their notices now. What should their punishment be?"

"Well, if it's their first time, let 'em off easy. But if they should know better, tell 'em to clean up their booth and leave. I trust you to know where to draw the line."

"Yes, sir. I'll send these out as soon as I'm done."

"Knew I should've made sure they didn't have black thumbs afore I let 'em have a booth. Leaves before fruit, and all that."

"Excuse me," Merla said. "I don't believe we've met. You are?"

"Ah, sorry 'bout that." He shook her hand heartily and said, "Fred Papas. Ev'ryone calls me Pop. I'm the owner of the biggest potato field in Agricales and Allia both. I also own all the land the festival's held on."

"You're the organizer, then?"

"Well, I get a lot of people volunteerin' to help." He gestured to Nikki. "The festival's gotten pretty big over the years, after all. Delegatin's important, so I don't go nuts. Usually, I just focus on gettin' the jobs right, and the right people for 'em, and then I handle my personal booth here - Ah, damn. I just remembered.

"Nikki, I'm real sorry. I can't get your payment to ya today."

"That's ... disappointing. What went wrong?"

"Some jackanapes made off with the whole three lots. It's gonna take me at least two days to make that many again. I'm workin' on it now."

"Three lots?" Merla asked. "Of what?"

"Well, Buna Potatoes, o'course!" Pop said. "Regional specialty, nice 'n soft, great deep purple, keeps fer years! Surprised you haven't heard of 'em."

"Buna Potatoes ... Wait, Mr. Nero told me about them once. He said they were potent healing items."

"Well, ain't that the truth! Take it you're from Perigold, then, the both o' you?"

"She is," Roma said. "I was living in Portobel."

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad there're kids still goin' for that kinda tradition. Gives me hope for you young'uns." An idea dawned on him, and he stamped his foot and snapped his fingers. "Ah, wait. If Nikki brought you here, she was probably expectin - "

"Yes, I'm afraid I was thinking you'd have the oven free for these two to get some Buna Potatoes from. Unfortunately, it seems those thieves thought otherwise."

"That just beats all, don't it?" He furrowed his brow. "Damn thieves. Sorry kids, looks like you came this way fer nothing."

"That's alright, sir," Merla said. "We'll have to try in a few days. We'll be staying that long."

"We will?" Roma said.

"We'll have to. We still need some way to heal our Pokémon. This is a good place to start."

"If I've got any left afterwards," Pop said. "Payin' Nikki might take every last sweet potato I've got."

"Maybe they could ..."

"Whazzat, Nikki?"

"Well, I was thinking: I'm not able to collect my payment. These two are put out of collecting something they need. And you've got to discipline the festival booths today, or they could pack up and leave scot-free. You can't afford to sit in the oven all day."

"You're right about that."

"So, why don't we search for the thieves ourselves? Roma, Merla, and I can all look around for either the thieves or the lots of food. Either way, problem solved, right?"

Pop nodded. "That ain't a bad idea, Nikki. I'm glad you came here."

"You're too kind. Do either of you have any objection?"

"No, ma'am." "Sounds fine."

"Great!" She clapped her hands together. "Then, let's gather information, shall we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> William "Billy" McCarty is named after Henry "Billy the Kid" McCarty, the famous Wild West outlaw. 
> 
> Nikki is named after the element Nickel.
> 
> Fred "Pops" Papas is named after the Spanish word for fries, "papas fritas".
> 
> I've changed how Stealth Rocks works. I'm mentioning it now before it becomes relevant, like with the type changes. First off, Stealth Rocks will no longer stay on the field if a Rock-type doesn't use them - they'll vanish after the first use. Rock-types using Stealth Rock will still use it as it works now - setting up a permanent hazard until it's removed.
> 
> Secondly, they'll no longer cause double-super-effective damage against Pokémon like Beautifly, who are doubly weak to Rock. It'll only do regularly super-effective damage. Contrariwise, doubly-resistant-to-Rock Pokémon like Lucario now only resist Stealth Rock one level, too. I've also reduced its damage down to 1/10 HP, instead of 1/8.
> 
> I'll mention the changes when Stealth Rock comes up, like with the type changes. If it seems like a lot of nerfing, it is. Stealth Rock's overcentralization of the metagame warrants it, though. It can already hit Flying-types, and Pokémon with Levitate, and it can do 50% of a Pokémon's HP on top of that?! No. That's too much.
> 
> Next time: To Catch a Thief


	14. Phoning It In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To catch a thief, you wait for a slip-up.

Nikki huffed as she pushed a few buttons on her phone. "I swear, that man. He never answers." An artificial tone came from the speaker. "Ugh, busy."

"How you two doin'?" Ramson said over the phone.

"We're alright," Merla said. "We're investigating a petty theft right now."

"Petty? So it's not that big?"

"I'd say it is," she said. "If can find them, we'll gain a valuable asset."

"Really? Well, good luck. I'm just helpin' out around here."

"At the festival?"

"Turns out, some booths were a little short-handed. I'm makin' good money here, too."

"Alright, well, we'll meet you when we're done."

"Sounds good." He started reciting the directions he'd been given, so Merla hung up the phone. "How're you doing, Roma?"

"We're doing alright," he said, "but I don't think Enoki'll be of much help here."

"Why not?"

He gestured to the Paras, who was currently buried six inches underground and moving. She left a wide trail behind her of empty air. "She's in heaven. I can't tear her away," he said with a smile.

"Is she eating all that?"

"Eating, covering her mushrooms. Whatever it is, I'm not gonna interrupt her."

Merla shook her head. "Well, that's alright. You've still got Snowcap and Kasho, right?"

"Snowcap fell asleep." He pointed at a snow-covered bush, which upon closer inpection had the face of a goat. "Kasho's meditating."

"Where is he?"

"In my bag. It's quieter in there."

Merla deflated. "Roma, the whole point of having our Pokémon out is that we can fight more easily than the thieves."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" He shrugged.

She let out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, Roma. Just make sure your Pokémon can fight when the time comes." She looked over at her Pokémon. Curio and Zapp were both looking around to get a feel for the area, though Curio's turning head was far more calm than Zapp's manic zipping. "We're at least ready to start searching."

"We're looking for crates," Nikki said. "They'll be large enough to store 300 individually wrapped sweet potatoes."

"And you got three of them?"

"I work for a large retinue. I'm in charge of aquisitions and logistics. We're operating in a few places throughout Agricales, looking for ... well, I won't bore you with the specifics."

"It's not that it's boring," Merla said, "but we should start looking for the crates. They could get away."

"Right. Our first step would be?"

"Canvas the area for witnesses. We don't even know how many there were."

"Right, then. I'll take north, and you two take south. Meet back here in twenty minutes." The three split up as Nikki'd said, and Merla and Roma didn't take long to find someone who'd seen them. It was, in fact, the same man they'd talked to earlier about the tournament signups.

"Yes, indeed," the long-and-grey-bearded witness said, "I seen 'em make off with the food, clear as day."

"Do you remember what they looked like?" Merla asked.

"Yes, I did, missy. One of 'em had a tattoo going straight across their face, and another one was wearing something strange."

"What was it?"

The witness paused. "Well, it's a bit hard to describe. It was, uh, a bright pink shirt and dark green pants."

"Bright pink?"

"Indeed, it was. I'm afraid I didn't catch what any of the others were like."

"How many were there?"

"Four," he said. "There were four people." He ran his fingers through his beard. "Two men, two women."

"I thought you said you didn't catch the other two," Merla said.

"Iii hadn't," he said, "but you can tell a man from a woman clear as day!"

Merla said, "Of course. Now, can you tell me what direction they ran off to?"

"Sure thing. They ran off in the direction of Route 3. Very few people would want to run into a volcano, after all."

"Right," Merla said with a nod.

"The volcano's got two paths," Roma said.

Merla blinked. "It does?"

"Yeah, there's a crossroads right near the entrance. People that want to train in the volcano go inside at the base, but people just passing through can take the higher path."

"Really? Well, that's another way for the thieves to get away."

"I don't think they'd do that," the witness said. "Even if there's a path, the volcano's pretty intimidatin', yeah?" He scratched his bearded chin. "I don't think they'd immidiately think, 'Let's get away by goin' in the... hot place', yeah?"

"You've got a point there," Merla said. "Well, thanks for your time." She began to head to another booth.

"What are you selling here?" Roma asked.

"Ah, nothing, young man. We," he said, "sold out on the first day."

"Then what's in the boxes behind you?"

The witness whirled behind him. "Th-those are empty crates. We're leaving them for the cleanup crews to grab. They need them for next year."

Merla walked back over to the tent. The three crates were stacked on top of each other on a push cart. "Is that a common practice?"

"Yeah, it is. They do it all the time."

Merla's eyes narrowed. "Do they really?"

"W-what do you mean, miss?"

"Roma, do you remember what Pop said to Nikki?"

Roma squinted. "I think he said, 'I don't have your Buna Potatoes.'"

"No, before that. When he said to discipline the tents. What did they have to do before they left?"

"Uh. Was it to... clean up their booth?"

"Exactly." She slammed on the table at the booth's front. "You're supposed to clean up the booths yourself! If this were an actual festival booth, you'd know that!"

"So what does that mean?"

"I'm willing to bet this witness didn't actually see the crime! He's just been wasting our time!" Merla's eyes went wide. "He's an accomplice to the thieves!"

A silent second passed. Then, the bearded man hurled the table at Merla's body as he ran into the tent. "Jayber, our flag's up! Let's pull sail!"

"Handling the situation," said another man from inside the tent. A sharp crack rang out, and thick pockets of inky grey smoke billowed from the tent's inside.

"Smokescreen!" Merla covered her mouth. "Crap! We're gonna lose them!" she said with a cough.

Roma dashed into the tent. "Kasho, Water Gun!" The Poliwag popped out of the bag and sprayed a stream of water into the air. The smoke seemed to soak into the water, going to the ground with it. "Stay here and handle this! We're going on ahead!" Kasho nodded, standing on its tiptoes and pulling a Water Sport from the ground.

Merla nodded, and ran through the tent as well. The thieves hadn't gotten far; in fact, they'd gotten around twenty feet before they'd been stopped by a very upset fanged deer and a bird perched on its head. "Curio, Warning Shot!" He breathed in and launched a white Burst above their heads. "Now, do you want to surrender, or be taken down?"

The two of them turned. The man who had a beard said, "Yer lookin' for a fight, yeah? Good, I been gettin' antsy."

"We're not supposed to be fighting," said Jayberd. "Our boss isn't going to like this."

"Makin' waves is my specialty. We're gettin' out of this without a scratch." He threw a blue Pokéball into the air and from it came a small, red-on-white octopus.

"What Pokémon is that?" Roma asked Merla.

"I'd have to guess Octophalse. Out in the Ramaria Sea, it's usually found around where the pirates live." To the former witness, she said, "Which would make you a pirate, then?"

"Man, you're good!" He ripped the false beard off his face, showing his tanned skin. "Yes, I was. The name's Jib. I'm a pirate's brat, but I'm not exactly in that profession right now."

"Jib, you shouldn't say anything else," Jayberd said. "You'll compromise the operation."

"Who are you?" Merla asked.

He sighed. "I see no reason to withhold it, I suppose. I am Jayberd. I specialize in Flying-types." With that, he threw a regular Pokéball containing a small, ball-shaped, green bird. "This is a Natu, a Psychic-type bird. My most important duty is to try to rein Jib in, a task at which I seem hopelessly inept."

"Would you shut up and fight?" Jib said.

"Case in point," he muttered. "Natu, use Confusion and move these two out of the way." The bird's eyes glowed blue, and Curio's body began to float into the air. After a brief moment of panic, Curio fired a Burst at it, narrowly missing. He fell to the ground and collapsed. The Natu held its wings out in an effort to regain its concentration, but when Zapp began to fire pellets of electric energy, it fell back.

"Octophalse," Jib said, "use Water Gun!" The water it fired flew through the air and struck Curio in the face, knocking him down to the wet ground. Zapp flew off into the air. "Follow it up with Double Slap!" It crawled closer on its many legs and started pounding the deer down, cycling through its legs with reckless abandon.

"Curio!" Merla ran forward, but got stopped by a wall of psychic force. "What the - Protect?" The Natu at Jayberd's feet lowered its wings, and the barrier faded. Its eyes stayed glued to the two humans.

"Zapp," Roma shouted, "shoot it! You're super effective!"

"Aim for its base!" Merla shouted in reply. "If you destabilize it, Curio will be able to get up!" Zapp nodded, and swooped down, firing a round of Hertz Bullets. They struck, and the electricity diffused into the dirt below.

Roma felt a tingle in the back of his head. "What was - " He scanned the ground - there? What was so special about that spot? He drew his eyes along an invisible line - no, it was visible. The dirt along it seemed to be indented, as if it was above a hollow pocket in the ground. "Merla, get ready."

"For what?"

"This! Enoki, Dig, and push Curio up!" The Paras burst from the soil, sending dirt flying this way and that. The Octophalse leapt back from the epicenter, getting back to the two thieves.

"Natu, use - " A turquoise tadpole came rolling out of the tent, unfurling at Roma's side.

"The smoke's clear?" Merla asked. Kasho nodded. "Good. You know what to do?" He nodded again, then jetpacked up to the roof of a tent.

"Position rapidly deteriorating," Jayberd said. "Taking advice?"

"Not from you," Jib said. "Octophalse, get Water Gun ready!" The small octopus drew in a large breath. "Fire!" A powerful stream of water flew from its mouth, headed straight for Curio and Enoki. 

The Water Gun's impact was interrupted by a bush's worth of leaves rolling into the way. It unfurled itself to reveal a goat with a bright white top and spiralling horns. "Snowcap!"

"Snowcap," Jayberd said. "Is that the same - " He shook his head. "Balance of probability says yes."

The seven of them closed in on the thieves from all angles. "Jib, our position has become untenable. We need to retreat."

"Run away?! You're just yellow-bellied! Octophalse - "

"Belay Order, Octophalse." It nodded, then stopped charging its Water Gun.

"What?! How dare - "

"Executive override, Jib." He jabbed his finger in Jib's face. "I'll make this easy to understand: get yourself arrested when you don't cost me a paycheck for it!"

Jib tried to say something, but only a "Tch!" came out.

"That Snowcap goat is here, and I'm not taking chances. Octophalse, Natu!"

"Stop!" Merla shouted. "Everyone, charge!"

"Escape Maneuver!" Octophalse spat out an inky cloud of Smokescreen. As the group ran into it, a bright blue flash shot from the top and out to somewhere far away.

"No!" she said.

"What was that?" Roma asked.

"Teleport. They're safe and sound at their safe house, wherever it is." She kicked the ground. "Great!"

"At least we got the food back. That's something, right?"

"Sure." She stubbornly insisted on frowning.

Nikki came running up - despite her heels, she managed it well. "I heard the commotion. Did you find the thieves?"

"I almost considered them witnesses," Merla said. "They might have gotten away with it if they hadn't claimed to see themselves."

"A severe tactical blunder. What were they like?"

"One of them was a pirate, and the other one talked a lot," Roma said. "That's pretty much all I got."

"No," Merla said. "One of them, Jayberd, I think he called himself, said he knew who Snowcap was."

"Hey, yeah, he called Snowcap by name! How did he know her name?"

"It's possible that he's a member of Team Fortune."

Nikki let out a noise. "Team Fortune?" Her tone was confused, but not lost.

"You know who Team Fortune are?"

"I've had ... a few dealings with the group. They've been quite a nuisance, to say the least."

"So it's not just us!" Roma said.

"No, it isn't. I take it you've encountered F - _Team_ Fortune, then? In what capacity?"

"We had to stop them at the Fishing Hole on Route 3. And we're - "

"We're on the lookout for them," Merla cut in. "They don't seem to be doing more than petty thievery now, but things could escalate."

"Is that right? That seems accurate to my findings. They don't seem particularly dangerous. And you're sure one of them was named Jayberd?"

"Yes," Merla said, nodding. "He was with one other person, a pirate named Jib."

"I'm familiar. They must have followed me here, specifically to steal the Buna Potatoes. Thank you for d - taking care of them." Had she just hesitated? No, Merla was just being paranoid. "Well, let's get them back to Pop, and have him get started on your reward." They started wheeling the crates back, talking over the finer points of the encounter along the way.

"I can't believe it!" Pop said as the three brought the push cart the Potatoes were on. "You managed to find them! And so quick, too!"

"The didn't make it so hard," Merla said. "They were bad thieves."

"They got overzealous," Nikki said, "and provided an eyewitness account to try to throw off the scent. Their downfall was that they didn't know the regulations of the festival - a novice mistake."

"I see. I'm glad I had you on the job, all three of you. For a reward, I'm going to give you some of my stock, no charge!"

"Oh, no," Merla said. "I couldn't accept - "

"I ain't gonna take no fer an answer, miss! You've done me a good turn, and one deserves another!" He handed her a cellophane package, clouded by purple steam. "Now, Nikki, since you're already buyin' some, how's about we call it a discount?"

"Certainly. May I write you a check for the amount which I believe I owe you now?"

"Sure thing. I trust you won't go overboard on the hero discount. Let's get that settled now, shall we?" He and Nikki started walking into the building. "You two," he said as he left, "tell the boy I've got at the counter to give you three, on the house!"

"Yes, sir!" Merla and Roma walked up to the brick-and-mortar booth in front of the oven. "Excuse me," she said to the clerk.

"Yeah, what can - Merla?!" Ramson stood on the other side of the counter. "What are you two doing here?"

"I think that's my line! I didn't realize you worked here."

"Pop said he was short-handed, and I'm not bad with my hands. He needed someone to stand here while he went around yelling at people. His words, not mine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, don't know about what. I figured, hey, the pay's good, right? I might as well ride this out. I could be a little unavailable the next few days, so - "

"Alright, now that that's settled, let's get down to your proper reward." Pop emerged from the door at the booth's side. "Fer makin' sure that I've got my livelihood, I'm gonna offer you kids my Buna Potatoes for as low as I can sell 'em - ¥200. You can get as many as you like, but I'll only sell you 12 a day at that price. That sound fair?"

"Yes, sir," Merla said. "How long will we be able to purchase them?"

"I've got the oven runnin' pretty much nonstop during the festival, and I'm usually here on the days it ain't. They keep forever and a day, and they ship well, so you won't ever get bad stock."

"Well, then, I'll need you to give me two more."

"Alright." He nodded. "Ramson, go get five Buna Potatoes fer my guests, here."

"Uh, yes, sir. Five, coming up." He walked into the great building the oven was in, and emerged with five cellophane packages. "Here we are. That comes out to - "

"Four hundred. First three were free." Merla put the food in Roma's bag, with all the rest of it. A thought crossed her mind. "Uh, Pop, who exactly have you, uh, yelled at today?"

"I've gotten the tournament organizers, and a lot of the game corner. Why?"

"Well, I need your help with something..."

"Oh, if it ain't my favorite customer!" The crook at the medicine stand took his feet from the table. "What, your friend ain't here for you to buy things behind 'is back?"

"I want my money back." Merla set the container of Heal Powder onto the counter.

"Sorry, honey. All sales final. Buy something else or buzz off."

"You're giving me my 1500 back, and you're doing it now."

"Who's gonna make me? You?"

"No." Merla pointed to her left. "He is."

The vendor turned his head to see the imposing figure of Fred Papas, the festival's main benefector, leaning against a table in an empty booth. "Now, I don't know about you, but that guy looks like he might have a problem with people shortchanging the register, and raising prices for certain people." She leaned in conspiratorially. "Of course, I won't tell him if I don't have any grievance against you. So, do you think you could make an exception to your policy, just this once?" She finished with a smile.

"Uh, yeah, may as well, right?" The vendor dug into his pocket and produced a bill and a few small coins. "This should cover it, ma'am. Apologize for the trouble."

"Of course," she said with a smile so wide, counting the money in her hand and leaning back up. "Alright, Pop, he's all yours!" she called. Huh, she got ¥1800 from him.

Pop came storming over, a maelstrom of rage set into his features. "What the -" the vendor stammered. "You shrew, you tricked me!"

"Shrew is an ugly word," Merla said. "Trick sounds about right, though. Have fun."

She walked off, leaving Pop to have ... "words" with the medicine seller.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jib and Jayberd's names combine to form "jibber-jabber", a phrase meaning "nonsense speech" or gibberish.  
> Jib's name specifically is from the jib, a sail at the forefront of a ship.  
> Jayberd's name is from the jaybird, or blue jay.
> 
> Merla had better be careful - she's jumping to conclusions pretty fast, isn't she? Granted, everything's coming up roses for her right now, so it's probably warranted?
> 
> Next time: We wind down for the night.
> 
> (Sorry I was late with this one. Stardew Valley doesn't count as an excuse, and I haven't got an explanation other than that. I write these these chapters a few in advance. (I'm on 19 right now, if it gives you an idea.) Of course, saying that, me being late is even less OK. Thanks for reading, all the same!)


	15. Communicado

It was late evening, and the trio had retired to the Pokémon Center for the night. "Arc, I am beat," Ramson said. "I'm gonna sleep all night. What about you two?"

"I'm with you," Roma said. "With all the crowds today, I'm almost burnt out already. I don't know how I'll make it through the tournament."

"You'll be fine, Roma." Merla stood up. "Just concentrate on the battles. I've got to get online, so I'll be up a little longer. Good night, guys."

"Good night, Merla."

Merla walked over to a free computer in the lobby and wiggled the mouse. She opened the browser and typed in the familiar address for VS Seeker.

"How old are these computers?" Ramson's voice came from behind her head.

Merla whirled around to see his face, her hand on her chest. "Oh, it's just you. Make a noise first next time."

"Will do." He leaned into the screen. "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting on a website for people who understand competitive Pokémon battling."

"Ah, looking for tips?"

Merla shook her head. "No, I'm just talking with my friends."

"You've got friends? Color me surprised." Merla shot him a look, but he joking look he gave her told her he hadn't said it maliciously. "So, what's this place like?"

"People from all around the world communicate on here. There's discoveries being made every day, you know. A lot of special abilities, battle items - and it all gets catalogued here."

"Sounds like a big site."

"It apparently takes a lot of effort. I'd like to be able to contribute something to it, but I haven't got anything for it yet. I have made a few friends, though. See?" She showed Ramson the list of usernames under the heading "Friends". "I like to check in with them from time to time."

"See what they're up to?"

"Exactly. Sometimes, they tell me something good that's happened to them, what they're doing during the week. They're good company."

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to it." Ramson walked over to the counter and asked about something.

Merla clicked on the username "Quadruple_U" and booted up the IM chat. "Hey, Woodrow, how's it going?" she said.

"Merla!" came the reply. "Hey! I've been missing you. You went dark. Everything OK?" Merla smiled; Woodrow's messages were halting, ridden with typos, and messy - but they were earnest in a way Merla enjoyed, and besides, she could parse them just fine.

"I've been fine," she said. "I was visiting a friend."

"A friend? Your neighbor friend? He doing OK?"

"He's fine. We are a little busy right now, though. Something came up."

"Really? What is it?"

Merla hesitated. "Just something," she said. "Don't worry about it. I don't think you could do much about it in Thuria, anyway."

"Wait, I didn't tell you?" Woodrow said. "I can't believe it. I'm moving," he said, "to Agricales!"

Merla stood from her chair. He was?! That was a long trip. Why was -

"Shocking, right? I know, I'm gobsmacked, too. See, this guy. Nice guy, they told me. He told my teach he wanted an apprentice, yeah? Over in Agricales.

"So, I applied." Merla sat back in the chair as the text continued to fly. "I mean, worst he can say is No, right? So I apply. And he says Yes! Well, he didn't 'say' yes, he sent me an e-mail, but it was still a yes.

"We try ironing out the finer points of it all, and it turns out I didn't hear my teacher right. He said, 'this Gneiss guy is looking for an apprentice', not Nice.

"Well, he might be nice.

"I never met him. Yet! But, his name's Gneiss."

Merla said, "Gneiss Bandner?"

"Yeah! He's on your Elite Four, right?"

"He's our Rock-type expert."

"Really? Great! Well, that narrows down what I'll be doing, right?"

"Sure," Merla said, "I suppose it does. Will you have to battle him?"

"Probably. I don't know. I am so excited right now!" The next message he sent was a textbook keysmash. It was undecodable, not that it really had a deeper meaning.

"The last thing you need is more excitement right now, Woodrow."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Arc, you sound like my mum."

Merla laughed. "Well, I'm glad you're coming over here."

"So am I! I'm meeting him in," the message came in two parts, "Ostreatus."

"Had to look it up?" Merla said.

"Gimme a break," Woodrow said, "I don't have the map in my head. Yet!" Merla pictured him snapping his fingers at that last interjection, and stifled a laugh.

"Well, I'm looking forward to finally meeting you in person, Woodrow."

Woodrow sent a wink in response. "When does your boat come in?" Merla said.

"I'll send you the details. Well, you'll get them, anyway. I'll probably send them to Datz, and he'll get them to you."

"Sounds good. I'll meet you when your ship hits port."

"Awesome! See ya, Merla!" Quadruple_U's icon turned dark; he'd logged off. Merla smiled; he must have been waiting to talk to her for a while. She sent a message to another friend.

* * *

Ramson sat down on the couch in front of the TV with Roma. "Hey," he said, "whatcha watchin'?"

"I don't know," he said. "I'm not sure I understand this show."

The spiky-haired man on the TV shouted, "I play the card, 'Urn of Avarice'! With it, I pull three cards from my deck, and discard one, placing the other two in my hand!"

"That won't be enough, Yuzu!" shouted the man opposite the field. "My White-Eye Dragon can defeat any card you have in your pathetic deck! And so can this one!" He slammed a card onto the table in front of him, and an image of a dragon appeared next to the one that was already there.

"Why doesn't he just hit the other guy?" Roma said. "I think it would be simpler."

"That's how they settle things in this world," Ramson said. "I'd say the same thing about Pokémon battles."

"In a Pokémon battle, everyone stops before they get hurt. But this is apparently happening in a Shadow World, or something."

"Well, I read the story this is based on. The Shadow World helps punish people who break the rules. Speaking of, I'm pretty sure Karob there played a monster out-of-turn."

"So he broke the rules?"

"Pretty sure." Ramson's phone rang. He checked the ID. "Oh, I gotta take this. Let me know how it ends." He stood and walked over to a quiet corner of the Center.

"Hey, Nikki," he said. "What's up?"

"'What's up?'" she said. "I've been calling you since noon. You never answer your phone."

"I was working," he said with a smirk. "You know, like you tell me when I call." His smile turned genuine. "It's great to hear from you. You're in Buna right now?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I saw you walking around. Couldn't say hi, though - Pop would've been mad."

"You were working for Pop? I wish I'd have known." She sat at her desk. 

"Yeah, it's just evening shifts, but I'm makin' a little money."

"Really? Will you be able to pay for your room? Where are you staying?"

"I'm over at the Pokémon Center, actually. I found a couple friends, and we're -"

Nikki smacked her lips. "Wait, it just hit me. Weren't you supposed to head to Matsuke for work?"

Ramson shifted in his seat. "Yeah, about that. I, uh, kinda left."

"You left? Really? Why?"

"Well, my friends made a persuasive argument to leave."

"Who are they?"

"Well, I don't think you've ever met them."

"Try me. I have been all over the place today."

Ramson told her Roma and Merla's names. Nikki's phone dropped from her hand and clattered onto the ground.

"Nikki? You still there?"

"Yeah, I am," she said quickly, scrambling to pick it back up. "Yes, I definitely heard about what those two did today. They stopped two thieves from stealing around 900 Buna Potatoes, which, to boot, was what I was getting paid for the job here."

"What was the job?"

"Oh, just logistics," she said with a wave of her hand. "Nothing major. I didn't even stay with them for long. We were around each other for maybe ten minutes, total. That said, I'm impressed you've made such..." Nikki turned in her chair, "virtuous allies."

"Yeah, they're pretty great. We're heading to Morchella right now."

"Ah, they're doing the gym challenge?"

"Yep. Roma and Merla both."

"And what about you?"

Ramson hesitated. "I'm not really sure I've got anything to do like that, no."

"Well, they are doing a Contest here, for the festival. Do you think you could try it?"

"Eh, I dunno. A Pokémon Contest? They're not that big a thing, you know?"

"Well, sure, but it'll give you something to do. After all, if you're around people with lofty goals like the Pokémon League," she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "you've got to have one of your own, right?"

"Well, I guess." Ramson shrugged. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. Think you could swing by?"

"If I have time. Will you have everything you need for the contest?"

"Well, I just have one Pokémon."

"Right. Do you think Roma or Merla would let you borrow one of theirs? Remember, the theme is 'Beauty', so think Ice and Fire, maybe some Water. Those moves usually look pretty nice."

"They've got some, yeah. I'll ask."

"Good. Oh, do you have a TM Reader?"

"No. Roma said we could get one in Matsuke, though. That's not too far."

"Alright, Ramson. Well, thanks for finally picking up your phone." She smiled. "I'll call you later."

"See if I pick up next time." With a smile about as wide, he hung up the phone.

Nikki slumped back in the chair she was sitting in. That conversation was... not what she'd expected, at all - at all! Stumbling slightly, she stood and walked over to the safe in the room and rolled the dial to its combination. Cracking open the safe, she pulled out an oblong machine with a divot in the center. Setting a Pokéball into its center and pushing a few buttons, she made sure it worked. "Good," she muttered. 

Tossing it on the bed and taking up a pen, she took a note of its worse parts - specifically, that its battery had become slightly worse over three years, and that it could use only Agricalean TMs, like any TM Reader made here. She also wrote down how to use it, and basic troubleshooting - what she could remember from the manual.

A single, dull knock on the door brought her back to the world. Nikki turned to see a swarthy man in a white long-sleeve shirt with a bandana around his head. "Hoy, cap. When're we headin' to the dining hall - Wait, why's the reader out?" He pointed at the paper in her hand, and the TM Reader on her bed.

"I'm sending our friends from earlier a present. They need a TM Reader, and we're due for an upgrade, anyway."

"You're givin' 'em a reward for sending us packing?!"

"She's rewarding them for stopping thieves," the pale man with glasses sitting at a table in the living room said. "We weren't supposed to be stealing anything, remember?"

"I was getting us the stuff faster! What's the problem?"

"She'd still have to pay for it, Jib, you ignoramus! To cancel an order our superior should obviously still require places her squarely under suspicion of being in league with the very thieves who supposedly stole from her!"

Jib was taken aback. "W-well... It was takin' forever."

"It's necessary," Nikki said. "We're trying to obtain healing items here, and this is a cheap and effective way to do it, if it's not a fast one. You did help me, despite your efforts, Jib - I got a discount. That's why I won't punish you more severely."

"Yeah, could we go over that punishment one more time? Y'know, for a _total_ of one time?"

"You'll know when I give you your punishment. Trust me." She stood, and picked up the TM Reader. "I'll be out for some time. Don't give yourselves away like that again, and we'll make it through this."

"Where ya goin'?" Jib asked.

"I'm getting the post to deliver this. I can't afford to be seen with Roma and Merla at the moment - not until they get put on the news."

"Not 'til they what?"

"It's a practical certainty," Jayberd said as Nikki left the room, "that when someone does something of repute, they will inevitably be placed upon the evening news, and be held up as a paragon of the community in which they were raised."

"Let's make this simpler, huh?"

"'They helped the town's most important person. That's newsworthy.' Is that simple enough for you?"

Jib nodded. "Yeah, sure. So, what are we goin' to do for dinner?"

"First off, we need to talk."

"You're dragging my hull. I wanna eat, Jayberd, sometime today?"

"Then explain to me why you thought someone with a bright pink shirt, and someone else with a facial tattoo were good fake criminals."

"Okay, so I panicked. So?"

"So, if you should insist on thievery, improve your methods of improvisation." He held his hand out to Jib's confused noise. "Learn to bluff."

* * *

The young woman sitting in the Pokémon Center's lobby reclined on the chair she sat in. She dialed that particular number. "I've made it to Perigold Town."  
...  
She unconsciously shook her head. "The trip here wasn't taxing in the least. I've accomplished my objectives so far."  
...  
"Thank you. I appreciate it. Now, if I remember right, those two have headed north."  
...  
"Yes, the bridge is up, just as we thought. I'll be heading north, as well. I predict they'll be running into delays. It won't take long to reach them."  
...  
"I won't underestimate them, no. That said, their abilities leave a lot to be desired. They've found remarkably little so far."  
...  
"Understood." She nodded. "I'll update you again after I reach Buna-Shimeji." She hung up her Pokégear, and smiled. Tomorrow, she'd start making real headway.


	16. Free and Easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMINDER: In this fic, the Ice type resists Electric, Flying, and Dragon and is no longer weak to Rock.

"Do you have any idea how to use this?" Roma asked. He wiggled the TM Reader in his hand.

"Shouldn't you have seen one of these before?" Merla asked back. They'd already eaten breakfast, and were walking to the tournament grounds.

"No, not this kind. The one I got was big, and you put a Pokémon into it, like this." He pantomimed dropping a ball into a box about as wide as his forearm. "Then it'd whirr, and pop out the ball again."

"And it'd have the move then?"

"Exactly." Roma held the small machine in his hands. "It was nice of that person to give it to us, though."

"They must have wanted to thank us for something. Maybe it's from Eileen? Ramson did say she was rich."

"Nah. That girl didn't know much about battling," Ramson said, "I'd bet on it. Her clothes were made for form over function, stuff like super-fine silk, designer shoes. You don't wear that stuff to a battle, it'd get messed up."

Merla nodded. "I see what you're saying. But still, TM Readers are expensive. Who has the kind of money to just send this to us?"

Oh, Ramson had a pretty good idea who sent it. "Well, can't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?" he said. "Especially when they leave a TM in the slot." He held the metallic grey card in his hand.

"TM One Hundred Eight," she said. "Steel Wing. From what I know, it's hot off the line. It's tough to find unless you shell out a lot of money at the Matsuke Department Store."

"What, have they got exclusive rights, or what?"

"I don't know. I'm not too interested in why it's like that. It only matters when it impacts my battling."

"I hear you, Merla," Roma said. "If my Pokémon don't have to deal with it, I don't either."

"Exactly." Merla deferred to him. "It's not important."

"Tunnel vision, the both of you," Ramson muttered. He took the TM Reader from Roma's hand. "This isn't going to be too tough to figure out. Where's the instructions?"

"Here," Roma said. "Take them." He handed Ramson the folded piece of paper.

"Alright, so let's see ..." He poked and prodded on a few buttons on the device, and soon it booted up. "Next, load TMs." He inserted the cartridges they'd already gotten, and said, "Looks like we're ready for the file reading. Either of you want a TM move, just put the ball here, and pick it out."

"Thanks, Ramson," Roma said. "Mind if I..."

"Go ahead," said Merla. "Going second's fine by me."

"Alright." He smiled. "Okay, let's see here." He set a Pokéball into the divot, fumbled his way through the menu and its options, and selected a TM. A short load later, and the screen read, "COMPLETE". "Wow, that quick?"

"Technology's amazin', ain't it?" Ramson said. "Imagine what it'd be like on an even newer reader."

"What we have works for now," Merla said. "Will you be using it again?"

"Uh, let's see." Roma fiddled with the options again. "Huh, I can't use Charge Beam. I guess that makes sense."

"Certain Pokémon can't use certain moves. Maybe try a different one?"

"Let's see." He cycled through the options. "She can learn this move, 'False Swipe'."

"False Swipe? Would that be TM 050, then?"

"Yeah, it looks like it. So, what is it?"

"A Normal-type move," she said. "It's fairly weak, and it can never make a Pokémon fall unconscious."

"So why would anyone use it?" Ramson asked.

"Well, like I said, it can't make a Pokémon fall unconscious. It's more useful for catching Pokémon than for straight battling."

"Why would you need to do that?"

"Pokémon need to trust the trainers they take orders from," Roma supplied. "If they don't, they won't obey anything you say. Pokémon that have been traded tend to act out like that. A trainer that catches fainted Pokémon probably isn't very confident in their skills, or is very underhanded. Either way, there aren't very many Pokémon that would trust a trainer like that."

"Unless they were just as bad," Ramson said.

Roma shrugged. "I guess that depends. I did say not many would, but I can't speak for every Pokémon."

"Could've fooled me."

"Uh, Roma, are you going to use that?" Merla asked.

"Oh, no, here." He took Enoki's ball out of the TM Reader and handed it to Merla.

"Thank you very much," she said. She set her own Pokéball into it, and thumbed through the options. "Oh. Let's see ... Alright. That could be useful. I think he could use this, and if that's the case..." Merla fiddled with the TM Reader until they arrived, shuffling her two Pokéballs in and out of it.

"Mr. Traub, Ms. Pomadoro!" said the official at the opening table, arcing his back to attention. "It's wonderful to see you this morning!"

"Uh, Mr. Pomadoro," Roma said.

"And I'm Ms. Traub," Merla said.

"Ah, yes, of course, my apologies!" He reached for a pen, and knocked the cup of them all over the table. "Oh - crap. Uh, excuse me." He ducked below the table and picked up a pen. He set it on the table and bashed his head against its support on the way up. "Ah! Shi - uh, shucks! I, uh, I'm terribly sorry, sir and ma'am - and sir, uh -"

"Hey, slow down, man," Ramson said. "Take a deep breath, and talk to us."

The man did so. "My apologies for worrying you. I'm just nervous, is all. After the fiasco yesterday, Pop assigned a mystery person to monitor the tournament. I'm relying on the pay here for an old book I'd like to get - but you probably don't care."

"Not really," Roma said. Merla jabbed his elbow. "Ow, hey!"

"Roma, don't agree when people say that," she said. "It's still really rude."

"Oh, it's fine," the official said. "I'm used to it. Now, if you two would fill out these forms for the tournament, and also mark down which two Pokémon you'll be using, and have a seat over at the ringside." They followed the directions and took their seats.

Ramson leaned in to the official and lowered his voice. "So, if I wanted to get into a Pokémon Contest, where would I go?"

"Oh, you can take care of that here. Just fill this one out and write down the Pokémon you'll be using for Round One."

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," said the commentator, "to the 26th annual Buna-Shimeji Sweet Potato Festival Tournament! We've got the first round of a 32-man slugfest for you today, and you won't want to miss a second! Let's show our brackets for the tournament up on the screen, shall we?" Images of the trainers' faces filled the left and right sides of the screen above the arena, and the tree of brackets grew to show who'd be facing whom.

"We're both on the same side," Roma said. His picture was just one below Merla's, but they'd been matched up to different people.

"Looks like we'll be going at it in Round Two, then," Merla agreed. "I wish it was a bit later, but what can you do?" She shrugged. "Oh well. Let's make it a good fight."

"Always," Roma said.

"Ah, there they are," Ramson said from the stands, pointing at them. "Those two."

"They're the ones that stopped those thieves yesterday?" said the woman he was sitting next to. "Alright. Good to know who to expect to win."

"Yeah, they're pretty good at fighting, too."

She took a second. "That makes it sound like you expect them to win either way."

"Well, they're good people. Call me naive, but that probably counts for something, yeah?"

"You've got one thing right, at the least; you are pretty naive."

"Whatever." Ramson shrugged dismissively at her. 

"Will you be watching the Contests, as well?"

"I could be, yeah. Why, you gonna be?"

"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?" She brought out a Pokéball. "But you would be truly naive to expect to win tomorrow. Between the three experts already in this one, you've got as much chance to place as your two friends down there, let alone win."

"Sounds like my chances are pretty good," Ramson said. "What's your name, anyway?"

"You may call me Kinoko Kaoru," she said. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Ramson Skordo. Pleasure's mine, Kinoko."

"No, Kinoko is my last name," Kaoru said. "Please, address me as Kaoru."

Despite the "please", the way she'd said it was clearly as an order for Ramson to follow, not a request. She was definitely one arrogant - uh, lady, no question about that. Ramson tried to continue making small talk until Roma's match came up, during which his unpleasant impression of her didn't improve. It wasn't that she was a bad person, but she was on such a high horse, Ramson just couldn't carry a conversation.

"And now, match number 11! Dana Lane in the blue corner, versus Roma Pomadoro in the red corner!" called the commentator. "Would both of our battlers please take the stage?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pomadoro," said the woman opposite Roma on the stage. "Care for a ringside interview?"

"No thanks," Roma said. "I'd rather just battle, if it's all the same to you."

"After, then," she said. "Dana Lane, Action News One's top investigative reporter. Looking forward to it."

"Hey, wait a -"

"Both competitors send out their first Pokémon!" said the referee as he took a coin from his pocket. Roma sent out Enoki, and she immediately tried to dig into the wooden stage. Unfortunately, it was too rough to do easily - not that it discouraged her. That must have meant there was better soil beneath it, right? Enoki made a mental note to return that night and see what was there. Meanwhile, her opponent, a rabbit with dark-grey, crunchy fur that trailed at its arms and wearing a soft white silk cloth across its ears had come out of Dana's yellow-circle-topped Fast Ball.

"Ooh, looks like it's Dana's Veilapine up against Roma's Paras," the commentator said. "We'll have a match ahead of us, folks!"

The referee flipped the coin. "The blue corner gets the first attack," he said.

"And the ref's call gives the Veilapine first strike! How will she use it? Let's find out!"

"Begin!"

"Jimmy, use Pound!" The rabbit pulled its glowing scarf closer to its head, then leapt forward and threw a grey-tinged punch down at Enoki. She scuttled beneath the blow and moved to behind its back.

"Enoki, Mud Slap!" Enoki was way ahead of him, shaking a ball of mud from her back and smacking it with her claw straight into the turning rabbit's eyes. It tumbled backward and fell onto its back, blinking mud from its face.

"Jimmy!"

"Ooh, looks like Roma's Paras knows Mud Slap!" the commentator said. "That move may not be strong, but it makes the target have trouble hitting anything!"

"Everyone already knows that," Merla mumbled from her seat.

"Certainly, there's something more important," Kaoru Kinoko said up in the crowd.

"And that would be?" Ramson asked.

"Well, that's a Silk Scarf that Veilapine is holding." She drew her arm to her chest. "That Paras needs to be careful, or it'll stain!"

"Is that really what you're worried about?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Naive, naive. You'll never be a Contest Star with that attitude."

Jimmy wiped enough of the mud from its eyes to be able to see its target. "Jimmy, use Swift!" It nodded, and swung its arms as if flinging things from the fur below them. Though, the star-shaped energy that zoomed from those swings and honed in on Enoki suggested it wasn't just for show.

Enoki dashed across the stage, trying to move away from the heinous stars bearing down on her. Try as she might, though, she found herself knocked around by them. She came to a stop at the far side of stage, and Jimmy was at the center. "Well, folks, that was Swift!" the commentator said. "That Paras just wasted its energy trying to dodge, because Swift can never miss!" Enoki looked down when she heard that.

Jimmy smiled proudly at the move, wiped a little more mud from its eyes, then turned to Dana in anticipation. She sighed. "Go ahead. Show off," she said with a smile.

"What's this?" the commentator said. "A secret technique of some kind?" Jimmy answered with a shush and a wink. It pulled the fur below its arms aside and showed that it held nothing in its hands with a wiggle of its paws. It drew its scarf from its head and waved it around with a flourish. It threw the scarf this way and that, until in an instant, the hand it threw out was empty. It blinked - that wasn't right, was it? It looked around worriedly, searching for the item it lost.

Jimmy realized with a tap of its head, of course, the scarf was hidden right there! It beckoned its opponent over. After a quick glance at Roma, who nodded, she walked up to it. Jimmy leaned in close and pulled where Enoki's ear would be. It tugged and pulled, but the scarf was being stubborn. It put its foot against Enoki's head, taking care not to really disturb her. It threw all its weight to get the scarf out, and it flew into the air with a resounding pop! Jimmy snatched it from the air and, in one fluid motion, tied it around Enoki's head, then took a deep bow.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've just experienced a routine using Veilapine's Bestow!" the commentator said. "Let's give 'em a round of applause!" The crowd did so, making a slight uproar with all the clapping they did. Jimmy blushed from the attention, and blew a kiss. It took two steps backward, and blew another, and then again. One more, and then it'd get back to the battle - where did the ground go? 

Jimmy stepped backwards onto empty air and tumbled off the stage. After a second, Dana sighed and planted her face into her palm. "Veilapine is unable to battle by Ring Out!" the referee said. "The winner is Paras! Blue corner, return your Pokémon to its ball, and replace it. Red corner, return your Paras back to its starting position."

"Got it." She took out the Fast Ball again. "Ugh, I could've used that Unburden boost," she said. "Oh well. I guess it's up to Perry." Jimmy returned to its ball and Dana exchanged it for a regular Pokéball. "It's up to you!" 

The Pokémon that emerged was a grey-brown-feathered duck with a white underbelly. Dark feathers created a V-shape on its forehead, and it held in its wing a green-and-white stick of some kind. 

"It seems that Dana's other Pokémon is a Farfetch'd!" the commentator said.

"Wait, that's a Farfetch'd?" Ramson said. "I thought Farfetch'd were, y'know, pinker."

"The local ones are," Kaoru said. "That one must not be from around Agricales."

"Guess it can't throw that stick, then?"

"It's not likely," she said. "Now, hush. I've already missed some of the match."

She really hadn't missed much. The first command of the round had yet to be called, after all. "Enoki, Scratch!" She scrambled forward and drew her claws against the duck's feathers, feeling feeling like it was a bit easier than before. It stumbled back and huffed, changing its grip on its stick to two-handed. "Again!" Enoki drew her claw back and struck again, but found her strike knocked away by Perry's powerful swing.

"Alright, Perry, use Cut!" Perry nodded, then leapt back slammed the stick into its own side. Enoki pursued her foe and attempted to use Scratch again. It drew the stick from its side and drew it across Enoki's face, slicing a wide gash in her new scarf. (In the crowd, Kaoru gasped in horror.) Perry returned the stick to its side and let out a breath.

Enoki stumbled back from the force of the blow. She threw a claw to her face and felt for any damage. Luckily, there was none - at least, none on her face. She brought her feeler up to her back, and sighed in relief - her truffles were perfectly fine. "Enoki, everything's alright?" It was a question, but one Roma already knew the answer to. Enoki nodded, hesitantly. "Right, I got it." 

Roma took out her Pokéball. "You did great, so don't worry. Snowcap's going to win, easy," he said with a warm smile. "I'll look around for a good treat for you, so just relax for now." He returned her to the ball with a flash of red light, then brought out Snowcap's ball.

"It seems that Roma didn't know," the commentator said, "that he's not allowed to switch Pokémon in this tournament! His Paras could still fight, so I hope that he won't regret that move!"

"He didn't need to know," Merla mumbled. "He doesn't care."

"He just didn't care." Ramson echoed her sentiment as Snowcap took the field.

"Did you say something?" Kaoru said.

Ramson shook his head. "No, nothing," he said. "Just that Roma's going to win."

"And how can you be so sure about that, Ramson?"

"His Pokémon knows Leaf Storm."

Kaoru raised her eyebrows. Ramson took a little comfort that he could surprise her.

"Begin!"

"Snowcap, use Ice Shard!" She bounded forward and aimed to cut the bird on the icy spikes launching from her back, but it swatted at them with its stick and knocked them off course in an instant. Snowcap narrowed her eyes. That was a good move.

"Perry, use Aerial Ace!" The Farfetch'd stepped forward deliberately toward her, then swung its stick down. As it bounced off the ground, Perry used that momentum to slam the stick into Snowcap's face. She reeled back from the blow, shaking her head to recover.

"That Aerial Ace sure is strong, isn't it?" said the commentator. "A can't-miss Flying-type attack! And since that Pokémon - " He checked the paper in front of him. " - a Magnoream - is a Grass-type, it must have taken a lot of damage!"

"She's an Ice-type, too," Merla grumbled, head in her hands. "That negates the Flying-type weakness. Uurgh." She wondered who hired this man, and who she had to talk to to get him fired.

"Perry, do it again!" Dana said. Perry took another step forward and brought its stick down.

"Snowcap!" Roma shouted, as he reached out to her. At that exact instant, her heart sped up, and his slowed down. Snowcap nodded imperceptibly, then bent her head down and fired an Ice Shard at Perry's face when his grip was at its loosest. She sent it flying and the stick fell to the ground.

Perry fell to the stage and sat up just in time to see Snowcap pick it up with her teeth and heave it as far as possible. It landed in the crowd somewhere, as far as she knew. Perry followed it with his eyes and ran after it. "Wait, Perry! Hold on!" shouted Dana, watching her last Pokémon voluntarily leave the arena.

"Farfetch'd is unable to battle by Ring Out!" called the referee. "Magnoream is the winner, and the victor is the red corner, Roma Pomadoro!"

"What an... astounding match!" said the commentator. "To think, none of the Pokémon battling would be KOed! I'm completely speechless! We'll be taking a short break, and then we'll get back to you with match twelve!" As he got up from his seat, he said, "God, that was a travesty. Barely anything worthwhile, and I swear, people were mumbling in the waiting area."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dana Lane's name comes from Dana Delaney, who was the voice actor for a certain character in a famous cartoon. (I'll say which one when her other half shows up.)  
> Her Pokémon are named after other characters from that show.
> 
> Held items, as we've seen in things like the anime, aren't usually talked about overmuch. Maybe it's because, besides the generation-defining items like Mega Stones and Z-Crystals, they don't usually seem to make a lot of sense. Take the Red Card, for example: why does it send Pokémon out of battle? For that matter, how does Roar? Maybe there's a way that it can all make sense. If there is, I'm sure as hell going to try for it.
> 
> On a different note, organized tournaments are always annoying to sit through when you don't know the characters in question. So, once the outcome of the tournament stops being a Big Question, I'm just going to paint over it with a broad brush. I feel like that's a good solution.


	17. Strong and Silent

"So, your match went pretty smoothly, didn't it?" Ramson said. He had walked down to the waiting area.

"Yeah, I guess so," Roma said. "I'm still really sleepy, though." He let out a yawn, and Snowcap did the same.

"You know, people might take it the wrong way if you yawn after you beat someone."

"Really?" he yawned. "Huh. Why's that?"

"I'm glad I didn't keep you from your nap," Dana said, a trifle upset. "I realize Jimmy and Perry aren't fighters, but I put up a little bit of a fight, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah, you did. I'm just sleepy's all."

"Well, I hope you're not so ready for bed that you'll pass up this interview," She got out a microphone and switched it on. "I've got Roma Pomadoro here. Get the camera, Tim," she said into it.

Not fifteen seconds later, and to the suprise of the crowds he leaped over, a strong-jawed man made his way to the front of the group. On his shoulder was a camera, and his shirt was blue. "This," Dana said, "is Tim Kent. He's been my cameraman for years, and he's good at his job."

He held out his hand wordlessly. Ramson shook it, and nodded. "How's it going."

Tim shrugged. "You'll have to forgive him," Dana said. "He's not a very talkative person at work, but there isn't a better cameraman in this region.

"But, to get down to business," she continued, "we're rolling, so let's begin the interview. I'm here with Roma Pomadoro," she said, her voice taking on a different, more authorative tone, "one of Truffle Town's fresh faces on the Pokémon League scene. Now, Mr. Pomadoro. You've got a Pokémon called a Magnoream, correct?" She turned the microphone to him.

"Yes."

Dana waited. "Well," she said, "could you tell us about it?"

"She's a Grass and Ice type, and she's good physically."

"Grass-Ice? That's pretty bad if you're going up against Fire, isn't it?"

Roma's head fell. "Yeah, it is." His eyes drifted to Snowcap, and the smell of her fur drifted up to him. Snowcap felt his hesitation and moved close enough for him to pet her. "That's really something I've gotta watch out for," he said, pulling her close.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Dana said. "The good news is, you've got not one, but two Pokémon that cover that weakness. I've got that that you also have a Poliwag, is that correct?"

"...Yeah. I do."

Dana paused. "Well, what is your Poliwag like?"

"He likes to meditate."

"...Roma," she said, her voice shifting back, "would later be a better time for this?"

"I don't think so, but -"

"I'll take over for you," Ramson said. "I'll handle this, so go take a break."

Roma smiled. "Thanks, Ramson." He walked over to a bench and sat down next to Snowcap.

Dana nodded. "Alright, what's your name?" she said.

"Ramson Skordo. I'm Roma's friend."

"Right," she said. "I'm here," she continued, switching tones again, "with a friend and ally to Roma Pomadoro, Ramson Skordo. Now, Mr. Skordo, how long have you known Mr. Pomadoro?"

"Uh, I don't know. I guess a few days?"

"That's not a very long time. And yet you're already fast friends?"

"Well, apparently, we met somewhere before."

"And where was that?"

Ramson shifted. "Uh, a secret. Sorry."

"Well, you've got a lot of trust between you two. Tell me, how did you meet?"

"Well, I met Roma in a fishing place off Route 3..." Ramson went on to explain a few of the less fantastical parts of their meeting, and what he knew about Roma, and Merla too, with Dana interjecting a question every now and again. "And that pretty much brings us to here. I'm not sure where we'll be going, but we're getting there, anyway."

"Wise words for us all to follow, certainly," Dana said to the camera. "For Action News One, this has been Dana Lane and Tim Kent." Tim drew his hand across the air, as a signal that the recording stopped. Dana sighed. "Thanks for stepping in," she said. "The interviews where they don't talk are always so difficult. Trying to press for details has as much a chance to make someone clam up as anything, and for a two-minute endcap, going over ten minutes of raw footage just makes more work for our editors."

"Ladies and gentlemen, return to your seats," said the commentator. "Match 12 is just about to start! Would Merla Traub and Figgy Stardust come to the stage?"

"Guess that's our cue," Dana said. "I'd like to do a follow-up interview after the tounament. Do you think you could swing it?"

"We'll see, but we're kinda on a time crunch."

"Right, that Team Fortune. I'll have to find out about them, Tim'll make some calls. Thanks, Ramson." She walked up to a spot in the stands and sat, listing things vigorously to her cameraman, who nodded and wrote them down. 

Ramson took a step to go back to his own seat, but stopped. Thinking about sitting next to that Kaoru girl again sent a shiver of anguish down his spine. He turned around and sat right next to Roma on the bench. "How you doin', Roma?"

"I'll be fine. Snowcap's here, so I'll be fine."

Ramson smiled hesitantly. "Right. Well, Merl's up next. You ready to watch?"

Roma sighed. "Sure."

"Is there room for one more?" A woman in a light blue dress asked the two of them. "I'm sorry to ask, but my bench just got taken."

"There's other seats in the stands," Roma said. "What's wrong with them?"

"I'd rather be up close," she said, uneasy. "Do you mind?"

"Nah, go ahead," Ramson said, scooting over for this woman to sit down.

"Thank you," she said. "You're very kind. I'm Aggie."

"Ramson."

"Both competitors send out their first Pokémon!" Merla brought out Zapp in a flurry of white light and a stray feather. He must have been in some sort of battle, but where? He turned his head this way and that, trying to figure out where exactly he was. The crowds of people didn't tell him anything, and just flustered him even further. All those eyes, staring at him - terrifying!

Figgy threw out a ball in turn, and from it emerged an orange bell pepper on two rooty legs, with a six-pointed, white flower at the end of a vine snaking down from its top and into its hand. "I'm not gonna have a problem beating you, huh? You're gonna get shredded by my bud here."

"Is your name really Stardust?" Merla asked.

"Beat me and find out, Traub."

"Looks like Merla's starting with her... uh..." The commentator shuffled the papers around. "Uh, here it is - her Procstrapi. Figgy, meanwhile, is using a Fellabell!"

"So unprofessional," Aggie said. "He should have had those out before he started. What was he doing?"

The referee flipped a coin. "The blue corner gets the first strike. Begin!"

"Zapp, use Peck!" Merla called. He snapped to attention, then zoomed down and jabbed a glowing beak at the Fellabell. It sailed through the air, rolling over the wooden stage and coming to a stop a yard away. "Great, now do it again!"

"Fellabell, use Vine Whip to stop it!" It rolled to its feet and swung the now-glowing vine in its hands in wild lashes. As Zapp entered in close to attack, a lash struck him in his head. He jumped and pushed his wings until he was far out of range of the attack.

"What, Zapp!" 

"'Quick to flee', Merla," Roma muttered. "This happened before, remember?"

"It did?" Ramson asked.

"When she was up against Nero, Zapp broke off an attack because he could have gotten hit."

"I see," Aggie said. "Then, would its Nature be Timid?"

"No, he's Hasty."

"I see. Greater Speed, lesser Defense - not a bad Nature for a Pokémon that's already fairly frail. Do you know its Ability?"

Roma looked at her aksance. How'd she know that off the top of her head, he thought. "No, she never told me."

"Is that so? Well, I'm fairly sure Procstrapi has two Abilities, but I don't know what they are offhand."

"Looks like these two are at a stalemate," the commentator said. "The Procstrapi's stuck too high to attack the Fellabell, but the Fellabell can't hit that high! What a fight, right, folks?" He took a sip from a cup next to him. "Yep, it really is. Two in a row, whoopee."

"He's not really selling the fight," Aggie said.

"Zapp, Curio, and Merla are a good team," Roma said. "They'll sell the fight without him."

"You're confident," she replied with a smile. "I like that enthusiasm."

"Zapp," Merla said. "Think you can arc your Thunder Shock?" Zapp nodded, then sprayed electricity from his mouth, swiveling his head to throw it. As it left his mouth, it died all too quickly to make any difference. He tried again, pushing his voice into it, but the short pulse he created left a lot to be desired. He tried again with the same disappointing result.

"Riveting," the commentator said. "Ugh." He took a long sip of his drink.

"She's going to get delay of game soon," Aggie said.

"What happens then?" Ramson asked.

"Her Pokémon gets counted as rung out."

"Not good, then."

"Very. I guess we just have to hope for a miracle, don't we?"

"Not a miracle," Roma said. "There's a way, and Merla's going to find it."

Merla concentrated on the arcing Thunder Shock, watching Zapp spray it back and forth, observing the pattern in the wave. Zapp began to strain from the effort of keeping the lightning going, and the pressure from the watching people wasn't helping. Berry-grabbing wasn't supposed to come to this, he thought.

"If an order isn't called by the blue corner in ten seconds," the referee said, "I'll consider this delay of game. Ten, nine -"

It hit her. "Zapp, we're doing this wrong! Don't push harder, squeeze! Concentrate your electricity into a smaller stream and fire it!" Zapp nodded, and closed his beak. Opening it just a crack, he forced a full push of electricity through it. Surprisingly, it was really easy. Even more surprising, it didn't release a single pulse of electricity, but five smaller pellets, which shot straight onto the Fellabell's body, knocking it over. "Yes!"

"Wait, what was that? Hold on a sec," the commentator said, looking at papers on his desk.

"A new move," Aggie said. "You were right, Roma. It wasn't a miracle, after all; it was Hertz Bullet."

"Hertz Bullet," Roma repeated. "It looks like an attack that has a bunch of weaker hits instead of one big one."

"You're right. Low power, but each one can paralyze the opponent."

"Never really got behind those moves. One big attack just feels better, you know?"

"Oh, sure, but strategically, they can be better than even common attacking moves like Flamethrower, especially if - oh!" Aggie tapped her fist into her palm. "That's right, a Procstrapi's Ability can be Skill Link!"

"Alright, here it is," the commentator said, reading from a book. "That Procstrapi used a move called 'Hertz Bullet'..." He continued to read rote from the book, lifting his cup to pour some liquid into his mouth.

"Seriously?" Aggie said. "A book? This guy's doing a terrible job. I thought he was supposed to be better than this."

"Maybe he decided he's tired of working here," Ramson said.

"Let's not be silly," she replied. "That man was, I at least assume, hired because of his skill at commentating for battle tournaments."

"And he might have some, when he's not drunk," Roma said.

"Ah-" Aggie turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"His cheeks are flushed," he said. "See?" Aggie looked; his cheeks were slightly red, but...

"That is strange, but it doesn't prove much on its own. He could just have a flush complexion."

"Well, I mean," Ramson said with a wry smile on his face, "he's drinking a smoothie. Maybe it's actually a frozen daiquiri." He chuckled.

Aggie stopped, her eyes wide. "The daiquiri stand is the only other one with a blender in it," she said seriously.

Ramson blinked. "Wait, he really is drunk? I-I thought we were joking around!"

"...So, yeah," the commentator finished. "Alright, on with the battle," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Right," the referee said, put off by the rote passage. "Both combatants ready? Resume!"

"Fellabell, use Bullet Seed!" Fellabell threw its face to the ground, then rolled to its back and launched a fusillade of small seeds into the air, rolling back and forth between volleys.

"Zapp, Hertz Bullet! Let's show them a real multi-hit attack!" Zapp curved around the spray of seeds and flipped into a nosedive, launching exactly five electric pellets down. At the very last second before he would have impacted, he swerved to a ninety-degree angle and soared back into the air with the momentum, coming to a rest where he could see the whole battlefield without turning his head down; it seemed like the perfect spot to fire from, so he did, launching five more pellets. He didn't even feel tired!

"Ring Out!" shouted the referee. "The blue corner's Procstrapi has left the battling field!"

That was a shock, thought Zapp. "What?!" Merla said. "But he's still in the air!"

"Your Pokémon used a move from outside the airspace above the arena. It's the rules, Ms. Traub. Please return your Procstrapi to its Pokéball."

"Oh, that's too bad," Aggie said as Merla called Zapp back. "She could've won this fight, too."

"Zapp got a little ahead of himself," Roma said. "Then again, he doesn't like fighting up close."

"He doesn't?" Ramson said. "Roma, how the hell did you notice that?"

"It wasn't difficult to figure out. All you really need to do is pay attention."

Ramson just shook his head. He didn't think any amount of attention was going to help him understand Pokémon like Roma did - and, while he was at it, it wouldn't help him understand Roma, either.

"Curio, you're up!" Merla said, as he emerged from his ball and, shortly after, took his place on the stage. "We'll be using that new move, okay?" He nodded.

"Does she have some kind of strategy for this?" Aggie said. "What's the new move she got?"

"News to me," Ramson said. "This battle stuff flies over my head."

"It might be Charge Beam," Roma said. "I'm pretty sure that was what TM056 was."

"If it is," Aggie said, "it won't help overmuch against a Grass-type. Fire would normally be the way to go..."

"Sounds like there's a 'but' at the end of that," Roma said. (Ramson snickered at the sentence.)

"Uh, yes, well." Aggie blushed slightly. "I don't recall the particular reason, I admit. I rarely see Fellabell during my work. Habanombre, sure, but not Fellabell."

"Begin!"

"Fellabell, use Vine Whip!" It threw its vine from side to side, cracking it in the air and shambling closer to Curio by using the motion as a balancer.

"Curio, Charge Beam and retreat!" He skittered back and inhaled. With a shout, a narrow streak of electricity shot from his mouth and blasted the Fellabell, forcing it to halt in its advance. "Again!" He let another beam loose and scored another direct hit, yellow light cascading from the Fellabell's body. "Halt!" He stopped in his tracks just before he stepped off the arena, but kept launching Charge Beams from his mouth.

"Alright, it's cornered," Figgy said. "Take your time, Fellabell!" It toddled in front of Curio, and drew back its arm.

Merla's eyes darted to Roma for a split second, then shouted, "Mine Guard!" Curio took a defensive stance in reponse, dropping his body low and baring his fangs.

"Me-nay Guard?" Ramson asked. "What's a me-nay?"

"It sounded like Japanese. It could mean 'sword peak', but-" Roma said.

"Peak of a sword?!" Aggie gasped. "False Swipe?!"

"Vine Whip!" Figgy shouted as Fellabell threw its arm and the glowing vine it contained at Curio. Curio's mouth began to glow, and he swung his head in the direction of the lash, deliberately biting into the vine with the back of his teeth. "What the-"

"Curio, pull yourself in with Ice Fang!" He gritted his ice-covered teeth and dragged himself closer to the Fellabell, drawing cries of pain from it as he moved closer. He drew his head back for one final strike!

"Hang on!" Figgy said, his arms out. Curio paused in his attack. "I think you've got this one, so let save us both the heartache, yeah? I'll tag out my Pokémon."

Merla, after a split second, nodded. "Alright, that's fine by me. I don't want to push Curio too far."

The battlers paused. Merla turned her gaze to the commentator, asleep at his table, drink in hand. He hadn't been snoring, but his eyes were definitely closed and he was breathing softly. Merla wondered how he'd been hired in the first place.

Figgy threw out his other Pokéball and a waist-high, metal-shining Pokémon standing on two legs with grass growing from every free spot and crevice on its body. On its head was a wide mushroom cap, with a small metal tube poking out from its absolute front. It arms tapered into similar long tubes, practically grazing the ground when they were down.

"Looks like a Tarraget," Aggie said, with a sidelong glance at the commentator. "It's a Grass-Steel-type with a lot of powerful attacks."

"Sounds bad," Ramson said.

"Not really," she replied. "Those same moves are so difficult to aim, it'll rarely land a hit. It doesn't make a difference how strong an attack is if you can't land it."

"Yeah, that's true. Y'know, you seem really up on the whole battling thing."

"Is that so unusual?"

"Well, you also said the daiquiri stand was the only 'other one' with a blender. So, if you say that, then you're familiar with another one."

"It... stands to reason." Aggie nodded.

"What kinda stand do you run, anyway?"

"Ah, ice cream. We brought a few flavors from our store in Morchella, actually. If you come by tomorrow, I can get you a free scoop for letting me sit here."

"Hey, thanks." Ramson smiled. "I really appreciate it. It was nothing."

Roma listened to the conversation with little actual interest, leaning on one arm and petting Snowcap with the other. He was just waiting for the battle to be over, and he hoped things would pick up soon. Against something that weak to Fire-type attacks, Curio would completely clean up. 

Up on the stage, the Tarraget waited for the call to get onto the stage. The Fellabell smiled at its Trainer, who said, "Okay, Fellabell, get to the edge before you tag out." It nodded and began wobbling to the edge of the arena, carrying its vine with it. Shifting it to one arm, it held its hand in the air for a high-five. Roma smiled; that was a pretty cute thing to do, he thought. The Tarraget held his hand out to return it, and for a split second before the clap, the Fellabell's hand seemed to glow. Roma sat a little straighter when he saw it.

Aggie's eyes sharpened. "So, you saw that, too. It's not technically illegal, but it is underhanded not to call. That move, whatever it was, could decide the match."

"Wait, huh?" Ramson looked back at the stage. "Someone used a move? I didn't hear them call begin."

"Fellabell is unable to battle by Ring Out!"

"Oh." Ramson shrank a bit. "That would be why, huh?"

"Tarraget, get on up there," Figgy said. It walked up to its designated spot on the field and stood.

The referee turned his head - nope, still asleep. "Both combatants ready? Begin!"

"Tarraget, use Bullet Seed!" It swung its arm out in front of it and three glowing green seeds flew from the tube, sailing straight through the air and toward Curio. As quick as they were coming, Curio ducked to let them sail over his head.

Merla threw her arm out as if to give an order. "Ah..." Her eyes drifted down and started darting along the ground.

"Oh, come on, Merla, don't do this now," Roma said. "Stay here, Curio needs you!"

"What's going on?" Ramson asked, as Tarraget launched another group of seeds, and Curio took the volley to his face.

"She's trying to figure something out, but now isn't the time to stand still!"

Merla muttered, "I'm pretty sure that's the best move." Her eyes narrowed. "Curio, use Ice Fang!" she called.

"Ice Fang?" Roma said.

"Really?" Aggie said. "Is that the right move?" Curio duly obeyed, breathing ice onto his teeth and moving in for a harsh bite.

"Pfft." Figgy let out a puff of hot air. "You serious? You even know what type you're fighting? Come on! What is this, Rookie-"

"Don't try to pull that crap on me," Merla said caustically. "You can't taunt me into using any Fire-type move against your Tarraget. I already know you gave it Fire Absorb." The crowd erupted in shock.

Aggie gasped. "Oh, it was so obvious!" she said with a smack to her forehead. "That wasn't just some high-five, that was Tag Out!"

"I guess it changes Abilities," Roma said.

"Exactly; while switching a Pokémon out, it tries to change the incoming Pokémon's Ability to match the user's."

"And if Fellabell's Ability is Fire Absorb-"

"Which solves the mystery of why Fire-type moves are a bad matchup," Ramson interjected.

"Well, then, that explains the move choice."

"Uh," Figgy uttered. "Uh, Tarrget, go all out! Use Hip Shot!" It threw its arm into the air with a reckless abandon and fired a single ball of energy with a crack. The shot flew by Curio, missing any part of his body by a mile. "Keep doing that until it hits!"

Merla sighed. "Curio, use Burst and finish this." He nodded and launched a gray burst of energy at it. It fell against the ground and bounced a little, coming to a stop unconscious.

"Tarraget is unable to battle!" called the referee. "The winner is Merla Traub!" Merla returned Curio to his ball and walked off the stage in a huff, mumbling about the tournament.

"I guess that's our cue," Ramson said, standing up along with Roma. "See you around, I guess, Aggie."

"Sure thing, Ramson. Don't forget to come by for that ice cream tomorrow - it'll be the freshest you ever eat!"

"Really? How's that?" Roma bid Ramson goodbye and began walking away with Snowcap.

"We freeze it on the spot," she said, "using Frost Breath. I brought down one of my Pokémon for it - Eggletta. She's a Coldkerel, though, so I did have to use our TM for it."

Our...? Roma stopped in his tracks, then turned and really looked at the woman he'd sat next to the whole battle. Her dress was light blue, and went down to her mid-thigh. Her hair was done in a braid that trailed down her back, light brown and gray-streaked. Her face wasn't wrinkled with age, but it wasn't youthful, either. At her side, Roma spotted a single Pokéball. So, he thought, the person he'd been sitting next to wasn't just Aggie the ice cream maker. It was Agnès Marcel, the Gym Leader of Morchella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim Kent's name comes from Tim Daly, the other voice major voice actor from the show Superman: The Animated Series. His last name, like Dana's "Lane", comes from the character he played, Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman.
> 
> Hertz Bullet is a move I made. Type: Ele/Spe. Pw. 25, Acc. 90, PP 30. A Multi-Hit attack, it can hit between two and five times. Each hit has a 3% chance to Paralyze.
> 
> Tag Out is one, too. It's effect is sort of like Baton Pass, in that it switches out a Pokémon, and changes the incoming Pokémon's Ability to the user's. Type: Nor/Sta. Pw. --, Acc. --, PP 30.
> 
> Hip Shot's another one. Type: Stl/Spe. Pw. 120, Acc. 50, PP 5. On hit, lower's target's Attack severely. (-3) A Bomb and Ball move. Can hit non-adjacent targets.


	18. Primer

"A Gym Leader," Ramson confirmed.

"Exactly," Roma said. "I distinctly remember teaching Snowcap Frost Breath with a TM in Matsuke."

"And the only way for that to happen is if you got it from a Gym Leader," Ramson said to fill in the blanks.

"It's gotta be. I never got any other TMs."

"Except she could have just gotten the thing from the actual Gym Leader."

"Well, I guess." Roma shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure that that's what she looked like."

"You could be fitting your memories to the situation, man. It happens when you're sure of something."

"What are you two talking about?" Merla said as she walked up to them.

"Oh, nothing major. Roma was just tellin' me about the Gym Leader in Morchella," Ramson said. Roma shot him a confused look. "Hey, do you know what TM they use?"

Merla took a second to think. "TM002, I think: Frost Breath. Special, Ice-type, with a powerful piercing effect - it strikes critical hits almost every time it's used. It's not so strong on its own, though."

"Really? Well, do you know anything about the person running it?"

"I couldn't tell you. Mr. Nero never really brought her up - ah, no." Merla waggled a finger in the air. "That's not true. One time, we were in class and he was in a bad mood. When I asked what was wrong, he told me that he got beat by a Gym Leader he shouldn't have. He said she had just what she needed to beat his strategy. Then, he went into a lecture on tactics."

"Sounds like a charming way to plan lessons," Ramson said. "So, how are you gonna find the Gym?"

"There'll be directions from the Center," she said. "It won't be tough to find, don't worry.

"But that won't be for another week or so, anyway. I've got to get ready for the battle tomorrow. Curio, Zapp, and I are going to work on strategy."

"I'll come with," Roma said, but Merla shook her head.

"We're facing each other tomorrow, Roma. I want to win this, so I've gotta say no. I'll practice somewhere you can't see me, and I assume you'll be doing the same."

"Uh, yeah. Alright." Roma shrugged. "As long as you're sure. I guess I could work with Snowcap and Enoki tonight."

"Let's meet back at the center for dinner," Ramson suggested. "Let's say... at about seven?"

Merla nodded. "That'll be plenty of time. Alright, see you then," she said as she turned and waved goodbye.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Roma asked as they walked to the Pokémon Center.

"Well, it's not we have any actual evidence," Ramson said. "Besides, if she wanted us to know she was the Gym Leader, she would've said so.

"Thinkin' more currently, what're you gonna do now?" he asked.

Roma shrugged. "Probably practice Snowcap's charge. Enoki might need to work on the TM I taught her. It should come in handy tomorrow."

"What's she gonna charge at? Your Poliwag?"

"Nah, Kasho would be better for improving her power. I'll need speed tomorrow, so Enoki would probably be better."

"How so?"

Roma looked ahead for Merla, then looked back at Ramson. "I taught her Stealth Rock. If she sends the rocks at Snowcap, she'll have to get faster to stop them."

"Isn't that kind of an odd way to train?"

"It's effective, though. I've done it before - oh, but that was back before the time travel. I'll have to remember not to push her too hard yet."

"Alright, so I guess I'm on dinner duty, huh? I'll-"

"No, I'll do that," he said dismissively. "It won't take time out of training. I've done it a hundred times."

"Oh, uh, alright. Well, do you need me for anything?"

"Not really. If I think of something, I'll let you know, but I'm used to just having my Pokémon for help."

Ramson nodded. "Yeah, that figures. Alright, I'll see if Pop could use me right now, I guess."

At the potato stand, Ramson began by scrubbing down the oven before the evening rush, on Pop's orders. As he was finishing up, the counter bell rang. "Just a sec!" Ramson shouted. "Alright, how can I- help you." His voice deflated as he greeted Kaoru Kinoko.

She blinked. "Well, that's hardly a good greeting," she said. "I suppose I did something to upset you earlier?"

"You did, but I'll get over it." Hardly worth the trouble if she didn't even remember it, he figured. "What can I get you?"

"Well, that depends. What did I do to upset you? Please, tell me."

"Forget it." He waved his hand. "It's nothing special."

"Oh, no, I'm not getting off that easy. Tell me exactly what went wrong."

"Uh, what? You're getting awful pushy about this."

"I need to be a better host as part of my work. Part of that is recognizing when I've upset someone, and fixing the messes I make. So, hit me - be brutal. Don't hold anything back."

Ramson stared at this woman aksance. What the hell was she going on about, part of her work? "Uh, I'm kinda in the middle of working, so, uh, I'm not gonna get into a personal grievance with a customer."

She leaned her elbows on the counter. "I haven't bought anything yet."

"Prospective customers count, too." He looked in the crowd for anyone else to come up and need service, but the rush wasn't on quite yet.

"If I bought something, would you tell me?"

Good Arceus, take a hint, woman! he thought. "I'd really rather not get into it, if it's all the same to you."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me."

"Alright, Ramson," said Pop, cleaning his hands as he stepped out to the storefront, "you got the oven- Oh, Kaoru! How you doin', sweetie?"

"Oh, just wonderfully, Pop," she said with a wry smile. "Your- Ramson here was just convincing me to buy half a lot of your wonderful Buna Potatoes! They'd make a nice present for a crew, don't you agree?"

Pop stood still for a second, then put his hand on Ramson's shoulder, his face a mask. "Ramson, is this woman harassing you? Be honest."

Ramson looked at Pop's stern face, and at Kaoru's. He sighed. "No, not really. She's being pushy, but she wants to-"

"She's askin' how she offended you earlier, right?"

Ramson gave his head a shake. "Huh? How'd you know that?"

"She does it a lot. Ain't that right, Kaoru?"

"Yes, I'm constantly stepping on toes!" she said, not an ounce of shame in her voice. "If I don't ask, I'll never figure it out. So, Pop, do you think you could spare him for a few minutes? I promise, he'll come back in the same condition he started in."

Pop was unamused. "You two can talk at the adge of the counter for a few minutes, sure. But I'm pulling him back for the rush, whether you're done or not." He motioned Ramson to come closer. "If you feel uncomfortable at all, just say you're checking on the berry jam and I'll send her packing. Got it?"

Ramson nodded. "Don't think I'll need it, but thanks."

"I offer it to all my workers. Can't be too careful."

"I see," Kaoru said after Ramson explained. "So, I need to work on how I address people, especially my juniors. I'll try to keep it in mind, I'm sure. In the meantime, I'd like to make it up to you."

"How, exactly?"

"Well, I can build you something as an apology, or pull some strings to reduce your power bill - oh, wait, you're traveling, that won't work."

"Wait, wait, wait. How exactly would you do that, first of all?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? Here, my card." She handed him a business card, which said, "Kaoru Kinoko, Kinoko Group Real Estate," with a tasteful vine snaking around in the background. "Are you familiar with the company?"

Ramson knew a little about them. They'd been in the news around six months back, and they'd announced that they'd gotten some island out in the Ramaria Sea and were doing something to it. Now that he thought about it, maybe he'd look up the article later. "A little bit, yeah. I take it you're the CEO's kid?"

"Well, let's just say, my father is an important member of the higher-ups, and leave it at that. So, you've got carte blanche: say jump, and I'll say how high."

"Seriously? Even if I ask you for something crazy?"

"Even then. Because, call me naive, but you're not going to ask me for the company, or my hand in marriage or anything. Just a feeling."

Ramson smirked. "You've got a pretty sharp tongue. I mean, you're right, but saying so's givin' me a pretty strong urge to be contrary."

She smiled. "Even so?" she said.

He shrugged. "I know where my boundaries are. Fine, then I'll just need some advice. What do you know about Contests?"

"Oh, those old things?" she said, a playful tone in her voice. She dropped her head for a moment, eyes darting across some unseen boundaries. "Hm, it'll be close, and you might not make it this year, but Master-Class is certainly doable. For now, if you like, I can make sure you at least place in this Contest. What do you say?"

"I'd say you're a miracle worker."

"'You ain't seen nothin' yet, kid,'" she said with a wink and a pair of finger points. Ramson chuckled at the reference. "We can get together tomorrow night and iron out the finer points, but right now, are you registered for the Contest?"

"No. I could've signed up this morning, but I didn't. Guess I gave you the wrong idea earlier, huh?"

"You did?" Her face screwed up for a brief moment. She clearly didn't remember that, either. "Oh, don't worry about it. You're signing up now, right? Now, which two of your Pokémon are you using?"

"Yeah, that's why I didn't sign up. I've only got one. My Zubat."

"Zubat?" Her eyes darted again. "Hm, Ghost, Flying, Absorb. It's not... _so_ bad for the first round, but you will need one for the second. Do you have any friends you can borrow one from?"

"They have a spare, sure, but I don't know if they'll go for it."

"Well, ask. Worst they can do is say no. Text me if they do, and I'll get you something usable for the Gold Contest. Have you got any TMs?" She tore a paper from a book in her bag and handed it to him. "Write them down here, if you do.

"Alright, thank you." She picked the list up, studied it for a second, then crushed it in a fit of triumph. "That's great! W-e can make something great out of this! Do you have a reader with you right now?"

Ramson thought back. "No, Merla's got it. Probably used it to give her Pokémon Charge Beam."

"You say that like we have to guess." Her eyes were bright. "Most TM Readers have history menus, of course; we can see just how she used it using the paper trail it leaves. But, that's besides the point," she said, slightly manic with energy. "Sign up tomorrow for the contest, and get the TM Reader for tomorrow night. We can get your strategy figured out there - oh, wait." She looked up at the sign to the stand, as if she'd noticed it for the first time. "That could work," she mumbled, digging into her bag in a frenzy.

"What cou-"

"Give me forty Buna Potatoes, as fast as you can." She slammed a ¥10,000 bill to the counter and wrenched out three ¥2000s. "I've got bribes to make."

"Whoa, whoa! Where the hell'd you get those twos? Do they even make those anymore?"

"My father's a higher-up at a major real-estate company," she said, waving them in the air. "Anything's possible, right? In the mean time, read up on Contests. I want you to be able to teach me how things work."

"How's that? There something you don't know about them?"

"'You can never know everything.' But, no." She shook her head, and pushed her hand into his chest. "What I mean is, if you can learn enough in such a short time to give me a lecture about Contests, you'll definitely be ready for this."

"Ah, I... think I got it. Guess I'll see ya then."

"Until tommorow," Kaoru said, hefting the crate of food she'd just bought. 

Ramson finished his shift without any other important meetings. "Ah, before you take off, Ramson," Pop said, "I've got a delivery for a customer at the Pokémon Center. You're stayin' there, right?"

"Yeah, I can take it if you need. Who's it for?"

"Those kids from yesterday, Roma and Merla. Remember what they look like?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm actually living with them."

"Ya are? Well, ain't that somethin'! Small world, eh? Well, Merla ordered a dozen at the bottom price, so could ya get 'em to 'er?"

"Can do, boss." He picked up the donut-box package with Merla's name on it and headed to the Center.

"Hasn't checked in yet, huh?" Ramson said.

"Not yet, Mr. Skordo," said the receptionist. "Mr. Pomadoro hasn't returned yet, either. Will you be needing the kitchen tonight?"

"We could. These're sweets," he said, lifting the package in his hand, "so they'll be dessert, I guess. I'll see if I can't whip something up." He looked at the clock: 6:45 P.M. "They should be back soon."

Merla was indeed back after around ten minutes, and she made her way to the Pokémon Center's public kitchen after she checked in. "Ramson, what are you making?"

He turned from the metal bowl he'd been mashing something into. "Oh, hey, Merl. Just using these sweet potatoes for a dessert."

Merla was taken aback. "What?! Don't do that!"

"I know, Roma said he'd take care of dinner, but I thought I'd make something."

"No, Ramson, I was going to use those! They're healing items for my Pokémon!"

"What?" His eyes darted to the container, to the three empty spaces he'd left. "Ah, crap, I didn't know. I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you?"

She sighed. "No, that's alright. I never mentioned it to you, I can't expect you to just know this kind of thing."

"Yeah, I just thought they were like donuts, or something."

Merla looked at the small, purple box the Buna Potatoes had been in, slightly rueful. "I can't really blame you," she said, lifting a flap. "I'm pretty sure this actually is a donut box. No harm, no foul, right?"

Ramson smiled. "Alright. Thanks."

"What are you making with them, anyway?"

"Ah, marsh-mallow mash. You mix sweet potatoes, marsh-mallow root, and a few other things they've got around here. Want a taste?"

Merla waved her hand. "I'll wait until dinner's ready, thanks." She looked at the clock. "7:02. Speaking of, Roma should have been back by now, right?"

In the next moment, the door at the Center's front opened, and in limped a teenager in a red-orange T-shirt, clutching his stomach, his jaw set tight. "Roma!" Merla shouted as she ran over to him. Ramson threw his bowl on the counter and did the same.

"Oh, Merla. Hey." He let out a shaky breath. "How was the training?"

"What are you- Are you alright?!"

"What the hell did this to ya, man?" Ramson said.

Roma gave a heavy sigh. "I was training. I guess I took it too far, but I'll be fine after a little rest. I've got dinner ready outside, so let's go eat."

Exchanging worried glances, Merla and Ramson followed Roma outside. (Ramson picked up his marsh-mallow mash before they did.) The scene set before them was a tranquil and polite one: a blanket laid on the ground and a small camp stove somewhat close by, just far enough to prevent a fire hazard. On the blanket were a few bowls, and from the pot on the stove came the smell of a savory and rich soup of some kind. Snowcap, Kasho, and Enoki sat on the blanket, relaxing. "Ta-da." Roma's voice was a bit weak, but he smiled all the same. "A nice, home-cooked dinner. What do you think?"

A pregnant silence sat between them. "Roma," Merla said hesitantly, "are you alright? Are you injured?"

He shook his head. "I'll be fine, really. Snowcap and I were just working on her charging, and she hit me with a good shot right at the end. I've gotten hit worse."

"She hit you?!" Ramson nearly shouted. He turned to Merla, she'd probably make sense of all this, tell Ramson he was worried over nothing. "Is that even possible?!"

"No." Merla's face was pale, her voice wavering, fearful. "That's not supposed to happen. Pokémon aren't supposed to be able to attack their own Trainers. How could something like this happen?"

Ramson shook his head in disbelief. "Th-there's gotta be some kinda answer, right?"

"There is," Roma said, startling the two of them. "I have to twist the Pokéball's button before I send her out, and that lets her go all-out. Seriously, she's hit me in worse spots before, I'm fine."

Merla drew her eyes down and ran through a few thoughts. In the meantime, Roma put a bowl and spoon in her hands and got her started eating. "She'll do this for a half-hour if you let her," he said to Ramson as an explanation. "If I don't hand her a bowl, it'll get cold."

Ramson gave an uneasy shrug, then got his own bowl of food.

After the meal, Merla said. "I have to be missing something."

"Back with us, huh?" Roma said. "What you missed was a good soup. I didn't think it would go so well with that - what was it, Ramson? Marsh-mallow mash?" Ramson nodded. "Right, well, I thought we could both use a good meal before tomorrow."

"Hey, uh." Roma and Merla focused on Ramson. "About tomorrow. See, I just got to talking with someone, and..." He explained his conversation with Kaoru Kinoko.

"So, in other words," Merla said, hand on her chin, as he finished, "you need to use one of our Pokémon, and reserve the TM Reader tomorrow."

"Couldn't we find a Pokémon for him?" Roma asked. "There's probably a lot of Pokémon around here who would love to be in Contests."

"But so few of them have the proper training for a last-minute entry, especially as the more important member. Him using one of ours should work out better."

"So, whose do I use?" Ramson asked. "I mean, Kasho's free, isn't he?"

Roma nodded. "Kasho, would you like to?" he asked with a turn of his body towards the Poliwag. Kasho shook his head. "Well, there's your answer."

"Wanna run that one by me again?"

"He likes to meditate during the day, soak up the sun. Sorry, Ramson, the answer's no." He shrugged.

"Well, then, how about this?" Merla said, raising her finger. "Roma and I are going up against each other tomorrow. Whoever loses the battle lets Ramson use a Pokémon of theirs."

Roma nodded. "Anyone you want in particular?"

Ramson thought for a moment. "Probably Snowcap, or Curio. Someone with big attacks."

"We'll manage that," Merla said. "Alright, well then, I'll head to the computer center. You two take care of anything you need to tonight, and tomorrow Roma and I battle."

They broke camp and headed off to prepare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> してますか？ Did you know?  
> In Japan, the 2000 Yen bill was only ever released in the year 2000 to commemorate the 26th G8 Summit. It's perfectly usable currency, but incredibly rare. Since Pokémon's currency is based off of the Yen, I figure it's got something similar. Of course, since Pokémon's currency is consolidated with just one P, like in most RPGs, we don't actually know.
> 
> Also, Japan's number group system is different than ours; where we group ours every three places (as in XXX,XXX), Japan's goes like Ｘ千Ｘ百Ｘ十Ｘ　for the first four numbers,　skipping over any digits they don't use, then repeats every myriad (10,000). The number 25,000 would be written 二万五千. (万 means 10,000.) Thus, the currency of the Pokémon world probably divide along those lines, too. I'm placing the comma as fits our grammar, but dialogue about money will be using this idea.


	19. Break Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMINDER: In this fic, Stealth Rock deals less damage to Pokémon in general, and type effectiveness is only taken up to 2x and down to 1/2x. Also, only Rock-types make permanent Stealth Rocks.

"Alright, Steel Wing: taught." Ramson took his Zubat's Pokéball out of the TM Reader, then pulled out his phone. "'What next?'" he sent.

"'Now that you've got Steel Wing,'" said the Kaoru at the other end, "'keep studying! ;)''I'll check on you tonight, and I've got a surprise. :? The battles that don't have your friends are good times to, don't you think? :D'"

"Real excited, isn't she?" he mumbled to himself. "Guess she's just got a cold exterior." He walked up into the stands and sat down, pulling up a Contest Encyclopedia he'd downloaded last night.

"Yo, how's everybody doin' this morning?" said one of the new commentators into the mic. "Great to be here for the tournament, too. I'm your color commentatary, Terry Weaver, and on my right here is my ball and chain, Virgil Camois."

"We're not married, folks."

"Indeed we are not! I mean, he's a catch, don't get me wrong, but I ain't lookin' for love right now."

"On a more relevant note," Virgil said after a pause, "some of you may be wondering what happened to the commentator from yesterday. He had a family emergency, and couldn't make it today, unfortunately."

"Guy probably got fired," Ramson snickered. Thinking of it, he scanned the crowd - yep, there was Aggie, right by the judge's booth.

"We'll just have to pick up all the slack, won't we? And we'll get the ball rolling with this!" A button audibly clicked, and the matches for the day projected onto the tarp behind the stage. "Man, I love analog," he said quietly.

"There'll be eight matches today, so it's likely we'll get out of here before it gets too late."

"Oh, sure, but doesn't that mean that we'll only get four tomorrow?" Terry's voice took on an exaggerated tone. "Virgil, how ever will they fill that extra time?"

"Well, playing into the self-advertising bit you're doing," he said, "we'll also be commentating the two Contests going on tomorrow."

"So, if you like our style, we'll be here all week!"

"Well, for the next three days, anyway. Let's get started on the battles, though."

"You got it!" Terry shuffled a paper. "Our first match is between The Good Doc and Mallory Cotton! Our blue corner character, The Good Doc's height is 5'6", and he likes the Steel type. Favorite food is bitter mustard, and no one's ever seen his face! Can you imagine wearing a mask to every battle you've ever been in?"

"Well, clearly, someone has, Terry, and he's in our first match. What's this Mallory girl like?"

"Miss Mal Cotton, our red..."

Ramson tried to tune them out, so he could focus on the studying he was supposed to be doing. Despite this, he still found his head turning up to look at the battles going on, and before he knew it, their match came up.

"And now, it's match number six! Man, time sure flies, huh?"

"It certainly does, Terry. So, who's onstage this time?"

"It's gonna be Roma Pomadoro and Merla Traub. Now, normally, I'd bring up their heights and favorite types, but there's something bigger here. So, in the blue corner, we've got the rising vine himself, Roma Pomadoro! He grew up in Truffle Town south of here and moved over to Portobel at a pretty-young eight with his mother. He's got a real way with Pokémon, and at only sixteen, no less!"

"Got any ideas on why that could be?"

"Heck if I know, but he's a real competitor. Now, our red corner's got another strong fighter. Her name's Merla Traub, and she's a real spitfire. Tactics is her strong suit, and out-of-the-box doesn't go far enough for her! She's been training at the Truffle Town Trainer School - heh, say that five times fast - for years, and she recently not only passed her Advanced Exams, but even got the Gym badge without breaking a sweat - no mean feat for a sixteen-year old."

"I'm getting a weird sense of deja vu."

"Oh, again?" Terry paused for the light laughter, then continued. "There's a reason for that. These two are actually childhood friends, known each other for years! They even got their starter Pokémon on the same day! We're gonna get a real good look at how these two fight today, folks. You won't wanna miss this!"

"How did he know all of that?" Merla said to herself.

"What should we watch for?" Virgil asked.

"Well," Terry said, "at first blush, I'd expect Merla to lead with her Procstrapi. It'll keep her Firefawn fresh and glossy!"

"And against Roma's Magnoream, she'll need it. That weakness to Fire will be paramount in taking down an evolved Pokémon."

"You got it, Virgil. Of course, Roma could always lead with Snowcap, and then Merla's plans come crashing down."

"Ice beats Flying beats Ground beats Fire beats Ice." He drew two fingers in a circle as he went through the cycle. "That's about where we stand."

"And this is where Merla's tactics can come in handy. If she's got a trick up her sleeve like yesterday's apparent Charge Beam, we'll see something great here."

"Both trainers ready?" shouted the referee. "Send out your first Pokémon!"

Merla frowned at the analysis, shook her head. They were at least competent, but their discussion was liable to give away any secrets she had up her sleeves. Just something to work around. "Zapp, you're up!"

"Enoki, we got this!" The two Pokémon emerged from their respective balls and sized up the arena again. Still made of wood, noted Enoki. Still easy to fly away from, noted Zapp.

"Oh, looks like it's Flying beats Ground, first thing," Terry said. "Is that a wrap already?"

"Probably not. There's bound to be something interesting here. Let's not count Roma out yet." Virgil leaned forward and steepled his fingers.

"The red corner will have the first attack. Begin!"

"Zapp, use Peck!" He zoomed down to Enoki's face and savagely struck with his sky-blue-glowing beak. She leapt back to protect her sensitive areas and got a stab in her underside for her trouble. Didn't exactly plan that out, did she?

"Enoki, use your powder!" She stood back up and leapt forward to Zapp, rubbing his underside with the parts of her back without any truffles on them. A grey-purple cloud erupted from the contact.

"It was Poison Powder!" Merla drew her shirt up to her face. "Zapp, use Steel Wing to throw the poison away!" He rolled in the air and threw his wings out in a bright, golden flash that faded to a silvery color. With his wings still spread, he whirled in the air like a top or a fan, pushing the purple-plagued air away and pulling fresh air in. As he slowed to a stop to admire his handiwork, he spat up a purple glob. "Darn it!"

"Looks like Zapp's Steel Wing spin wasn't fast enough, huh?" Terry said. "It's been poisoned by Enoki's Poison Powder."

"That'll be a good Appeal for- uh, sorry." Virgil shook his head. "I mean, it's a good move. Paras can win in a battle of attrition now. Still, this hasn't stopped being a damage race, and Procstrapi's got Paras beat in terms of damage potential. Roma'll need something else to compete."

"Enoki, use your rocks!" From her claw, Enoki formed a single, large stone. With one great swing, she both dented the stage and cracked her rock in a hundred jagged splinters and rough chunks. Picking up the largest one, she hurled it at Zapp's head. He swerved out of the way and high into the sky with time to spare, the stone barely clearing her claw before slamming back down. She shuddered from the impact.

Merla nodded. It was a good defensive position, being in the air - but Zapp's indirect attacks were both Electric-type, and with the poisoning, she couldn't afford to play defense, anyway. Her inner monologue was echoed by the commentators, only confirming what she already knew. Peck, Steel Wing, Flame Charge - even Tackle - none of them were ideal. Enoki didn't need an easy target, but... "There's no choice," she muttered. "Zapp, Flame Charge - and aim for her truffles!" He swerved down and burst into flame.

Roma narrowed his eyes, waited for the perfect moment as the tension on the field mounted. Zapp fell from the sky. Not then. He pulled himself from a free fall, arced the flame toward Enoki. Not yet.

"He's not calling an order?" Virgil said. Zapp was getting closer, turning with the curve of the stage.

"This isn't lookin' good," Terry said. Zapp was behind her, and gearing up to strike.

That was it; Roma just knew it, saw exactly what Merla was doing, what she'd taught Zapp to do, as if Roma'd taught him to do it himself. "Rock Throw, up!" Enoki formed a rock in her claw and threw it with all the force she could keep there. At that exact instant, Zapp shot above her to bear down - a bluff. The stone Enoki threw embedded itself in his beak, flipping him limply through the air from its force, his flame dissipating. He landed on the arena floor, and failed to rise at all.

"Procstrapi is unable to battle!" called the referee. "The winner is Paras!" Merla nodded solemnly, returned Zapp to his ball.

The crowd cheered. "Now, that was a battle!" Terry said. "It was down to the wire, but those two made it look easy! I guess that's just what happens when you know each other so well."

"And now, we'll see what tricks she's given her Firefawn."

"That's right, folks! It ain't over yet!"

"At least it's not the worst-case scenario," Merla said. "Curio, let's go!" She reeled her hand back to throw the ball.

"Enoki, let go!" As Merla's Pokéball opened, Enoki relaxed her body, sending the stones that laid - no, that had been _pressed_ against the stage back to their original, floating position.

"That was Stealth Rock!" Virgil shouted into the mic. Curio's energy formed his loose shape. "That Paras had been battling while keeping her Stealth Rocks pressed down?!"

"Sound like a real feat," Terry said. Curio's form solidified.

"It's not an easy thing to do. Those rocks naturally float in the air, like supermagnets, and react to the energy a Pokéball gives off. Pressing them to the ground takes a lot of force." The energy surrounding Curio dissipated into the air.

As if reacting to Virgil's words, the pointed stones and splinters cracked through the air and pierced Curio's hide, forcing him to stumble.

"Ooh, that's a bad one," Terry said. "Took a bite out of him, didn't they?"

"It certainly did." The stones fell to the ground, their power spent. "Thankfully, they won't cause any more problems."

"That's the Rock-type specialty, right? Stealth Rocks that stick around?"

Virgil nodded. "Correct. In a two-Pokémon tournament, though, it's not very relevant."

"Both combatants ready? The red corner has the first attack. Begin!"

"Curio, use Ember!" He inhaled and shot a blast of ash and ember from his throat.

"Enoki, Rock Shield!" She formed another large stone and slammed it onto the floor, splitting it into bits and pieces. The ash crashed against the stones as they scattered, leaving Enoki unharmed. "Curio's a ranged fighter, Merla - I told you that myself, remember?"

She sighed. Roma definitely wasn't stupid - and that was the point he was making. Still, that left her with only one recourse. "Alright, fine. As you like. Curio, we're moving in." With a nod, and glowing fangs, he began walking forward.

Roma let out a noise, but hesitated. "Enoki, don't attack. She's using her Mine Guard."

"Why's it in Japanese?" Virgil asked.

"It's probably to keep people from guessing what it is," Terry said. "But, I don't know, that only works once, y'know? What do you think it would be in English?"

"If it's based off of False Swipe, then maybe something like Fake Guard?"

"No, wait, I've got it! Pseudo Parry! They both start with P, don't they?"

Virgil put his hand to his chin. "And it does mimic the effects of the Parry ability."

"So, it's settled!" Terry clapped his hands. "Curio's Pseudo Parry kept Enoki from moving! And Curio inches closer!"

Trying to ignore them, Merla called, "Curio, Ice Fang!" The glow of his fangs changed from a stark white to a frosty blue, and leapt forward to chew through Enoki's body.

"Mud Slap, Enoki!" Leaping backwards, she sprayed wet mud onto Curio's face and eyes. Blinking back the mud, he huffed. Of course it got in his eyes again. He bared his Ice Fang despite the stinging mud, and he managed to strike her. Enoki doubled back, ran around to behind him, and sprayed more mud onto him.

"Curio, finish her off!" He nodded and threw his legs back in a wobbly kick, listening for Enoki's scuttling - on his right! He whirled and spat out a Burst, too quick for her to get an order, too quick to shield from.

What he felt at that moment was... an incredible power bursting forth. "Paras is unable to battle!" Of course she was; Curio had hit her. It was perfectly obvious. The energy he'd felt when she had - that incredible power, it engulfed him. He felt it grow through his chest, out his sides; it spread down to his legs, up to his head, out through his fangs. It wasn't quite painful, but the sheer volume of it all threatened to buckle his knees. But no. He would stand tall, if only for Merla's sake.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Curio's evolving as we speak!" Terry called. So that was it, Curio thought. _Evolution_. "It's not too often that a Pokémon does that during a tournament."

"It'll be stronger once it's done," Virgil said, "and it'll have a new move, most likely. Evolution against evolution - this will be a huge final battle."

"Hey, that's right, Roma's got a Magnoream. Can't wait!" He rubbed his hands together.

As Curio's body faded from its bright white glow, his new form brought him to be much taller, around four-foot-six. Red spots decorated his sides in a regular pattern, flames shooting from them occasionally. His legs were more muscular, his footing more sure. The fangs in his mouth now came to sharp points, and his eyes shone keenly, despite the mud around them.

"Wow, it's pretty cool lookin', huh?" Ramson muttered.

Curio narrowed his eyes and felt something catch in his throat. He spewed embers into the air. Another volley. It was right there, so close...

"Do it, Curio!" Roma shouted, Snowcap's ball in hand. A split second passed between them, and then it _clicked_. After a single, shallow breath, he opened his mouth. From his maw erupted an enormous gout of blue flame.

Roma felt his heart seize up at the sight. Images and thoughts swirled in his head - Snowcap - fire - that smell - that feeling. The world began to wobble. The sky and the ground both started to turn a deep and all-consuming black. Merla's mouth moved, her eyes softened. Roma didn't hear what she said, though. All of a sudden, the world pitched, and he found himself looking out at the stands. Someone ran down - who, he didn't know. The last sensation Roma felt before he fell unconscious was the rough wood of the arena floor.


	20. Set Up

The sheet covering Roma's body was soft; that was the first thing he noticed. A soft groan escaped his throat as he tried to push himself up, his eyes cracking open. The bars at the end of his bed were straight metal, with a single bar going across the top. A twinge in his arm drew his eyes down, to the IV drip in his arm. A hospital, then? Maybe a Pokémon Center. They had emergency services, so it wasn't too surprising to him. He looked out his door, and waited for a familiar face. 

Unfortunately, he could only get a nurse, who told him that only family members were allowed to visit people in this section - and, besides, it was after seven, anyway, dearie. Visiting hours were over. In the meantime, she'd take a look at his chart.

Oh, good news - Roma would be able to leave tomorrow, no problem. It was just stress. Of course, he _would_ have to be more careful around those wild Pokémon - something about his kidney happened to cause something else, but then this other thing... Roma stopped paying attention to her as she prattled on, not really interested in something like that. As long as he could stay with his Pokémon and keep helping them, it wasn't that important. She left after a little bit, with a recommendation to get some sleep, dearie! You don't want to miss your friend in the tournament tomorrow!

Huh. He supposed that meant Merla won. Roma guessed that made sense - he fell unconscious on the stage, as far as he remembered, even if exactly why remained a mystery. He went over the events he did remember - Enoki beat Zapp, then Curio beat Enoki. Curio evolved... then everything went dark. With his free hand, he felt around his head. Thankfully, nothing seemed broken.

"Alright, first off, Kaoru." Someone's - Ramson's, actually - Ramson's voice drifted from the window in the left wall. "Before you get started, I'm all registered." Roma turned his head over to it, then got up from the bed and walked over to it. His voice was muffled, but Roma could still make out most of what he said.

"That's great!" One of the women he was talking to clapped her hands, then threw her long black hair behind her ear. "So, which Pokémon did you go with? The Magnoream, right?"

"No, actually." Ramson scratched the back of his head. She blinked in surprise. "I didn't feel right takin' advantage of Roma while he was out, y'know?"

"Understandable." The other woman nodded heartily, her short, red curls bouncing a bit. "I wouldn't feel right, either. Pokémon should be borrowed with consent."

"So then," said the other man, as he leaned back on a pole and still managed to dwarf everyone else there, "which one are you goin' with? That Merla chick have a spare?"

"No, I've got to use one she's already using for the tournament, Curio."

"The Firefawn?" The red-curled woman shot up. "The one that evolved and put your other friend in the Rest Ward?" So that's where Roma was.

"Actually, it's somethin' called a Flarebuck now."

"If it's just evolved, it could be awkward until it finds its legs," Big Guy said.

"At the same time, that girl is working with her," said Red-Hair. "You saw what she did yesterday. She might work it all out before lights out tonight."

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there," said Kaoru - at least, that's what Roma heard Ramson call her. "In the mean time, allow me to introduce your crash course team for the evening."

"Please," Ramson said.

"On my left, here, is Belle DuBall." She gestured to Red-Hair, who walked up to Ramson and shook his hand with a lot of vigor.

"Ever so pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Skordo! DuBall's my name, and Cool is my game. Ha'n't got new blood in the circuit in a while. Lookin' forward to seein' what you can do!" She spoke with a lilting, vaguely sing-songy voice.

"She's real enthusiastic, ain't she?" said Big Guy. He stood from the pole and walked over. "Brace Knightley," he said, shaking Ramson's hand as well, "real name, Forett. I'm Tough."

"As in Contests," asked Ramson, "or in real life?"

"Yes," answered the three of them.

"I, of course, have introduced you to them, Ramson." Kaoru nodded happily, then pounced. "So, let's begin with a recap of Contests. I want all the details you can remember, 'and even the ones you can't. Go on the buzzer.'" Roma got a little confused when a buzzer didn't actually sound.

"Uh, right. Let's see." He took a deep breath. "First off, in an Agricalean Contest, there can be three, four, or five contestants." He paused and muttered something. "Five rounds for five, four for any others. Each round takes around nine minutes, and if someone takes more than three minutes, they get kicked off."

"'Disqualified' is the proper terminology," said Belle. "But continue, please."

He nodded, then mumbled something else. "The point of a Contest is to show your Pokémon off the best, and you measure that with Appeal. More Appeal, better performance. You get some from just looking good, keeping your Pokémon well-groomed and all that. The real meat of the Contest, though, is the attack round."

"'Move Appeal'," Belle interjected.

"Uh, right. Each trainer sends out the Pokémon and they do a move. The five kinds of Appeal are..." He mumbled something and mimed drawing something down. "Clever, Tough, Cool, Beauty, and Cute. Every move fits in one of 'em, and most Types have a trend in how they swing."

"Rocks are Tough," Brace supplied, "and Electric is Cool. Right, Belle?" She shot him a look.

"Every round, a Pokémon does a move," Ramson continued, "and then the judges score it. The audience's enjoyment goes into it, too, though. I think they called it Volts?"

"Volt _age_ ," Belle supplied. "At around five matching Appeals, an audience's excitement reaches its peak. The judges love that sort of climactic Appeal."

Ramson nodded. "Right, good to know." He gave his head a small shake, probably to reset his train of thought. "After the judges, well, judge, they bring up the order people go in next turn, because it isn't always the same, for some reason? And after four or five rounds, the contest's over, and they call a winner." He looked between the three of them. "So, how'd I do?"

Brace spoke first. "Textbook, and kinda crappy, at that. Guess you can't expect much in two days, though."

Belle broke in. "I thought it was an admirable effort!" She said it less for Ramson and more at Brace. "Besides the terminology, he's got a good grasp of the basics."

"But are basics gonna get him that far against us? Sure, he could get the Silver, maybe even he _will_ , but the Gold's another story entirely. I got a better shot," he said, jabbing his own thumb into his chest, "than him, and that's sayin' a lot."

"Well, if I can't, I can't." Ramson shrugged. "I'll be fine with just winning the Silver. I go on tomorrow, so -"

"Oh, no!" Kaoru threw herself into the conversation, and against Ramson's body. "You're not going defeatist on me now! You are _not_ an Archeops! I'm not going to let you sleep tonight until we've drilled all the best strategies we can think of to throw you into the Gold spot."

"Whoa, back up a little!" Ramson took a step back, pressing himself onto the wall below Roma's window.

"We're starting now. Get out your Zubat, and get ready for Move Appeal!"

"Arc, fine, just let me breathe!" came Ramson's reply, echoing through the wall.

Roma watched as they set themselves in a single direction away from the building. All the while, Kaoru was explaining one thing or another to Ramson, who seemed to be doing his level best to commit it to memory, mumbling words and phrases to himself.

After it was all said and done, the four of them had each sent out a single Pokémon: Kaoru's little beagle of some kind with a green-tipped tail, Belle's Sableye, Brace's pink coral Pokémon, and Ramson's Zubat. Roma brought out his Pokégear and took pictures of both of the Pokémon he didn't recognize. Kaoru had a Smeargle, and Brace a Corsola. All three of Ramson's opponents' Pokémon were in prime health, and had their fur brushed recently, or had been fed aquamarine, or had stray bits cleanly filed off. Good, Roma thought: if that Corsola's coral got unruly, it could spell trouble if it got trapped somewhere.

From the way Kaoru seemed to be moving her hands, like scales, it seemed like they'd be starting from an equal playing field, not that he could actually hear her anymore. Roma resolved to give Curio a good grooming so that he could help where he could. After all, Curio's diet might have been good for his brain, but it didn't do much for his fur, specifically, or anything else, really.

Now, Kaoru was asking Ramson to go first, it looked like. No, Belle was saying. Kaoru should go first. Ah, Kaoru turned to her and started trying to tell her something, but Belle wasn't hearing it.

"Alright!" shouted Brace, so loud Roma actually heard it. He said something, then turned to - Ah, he asked Ramson what he wanted. Ramson shrugged, moved forward.

His Zubat, when he pointed, moved and used Steel Wing, his wings shining with a bright metallic glow as he darted around at an imaginary opponent. How was that, Ramson probably said as he turned around. Personally, Roma thought it was pretty nice, even if it was flashy. Then again, that was kind of the point, wasn't it?

Ah, then Kaoru's went, and it looked like she said something to Belle, whose face lost its angry red. Then, her Smeargle stepped forward, and began to draw in the air with its tail. First, it drew two diagonal lines, and drew horizontal and vertical ones beneath that. Then it drew a box with an open bottom and filled it with what looked like a person splitting? No, wait, that was something Roma recognized - a no! It had definitely drawn a loop with _that_ stroke - which meant that first set of drawings had been kanji, then. It drew the remaining symbol by making symbols under awnings, then boxes stacked on each other, with two swipes to finish. "That was definitely wing," Roma mumbled to himself.

As Belle stepped forward, Roma felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw one of the Center's Munna, its purple mist gesturing to his bed. "But, I'm..." He sighed. It was alright, he supposed. Ramson didn't need him watching to get better. He climbed his way back into bed and let the Munna tuck him in. Soon enough after he closed his eyes, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Sunlight threw itself through the window, slowly waking Roma up. He rolled out of the bed and left his room, only to be set upon by the same nurse from yesterday. Dearie, you shouldn't be out of bed, especially not with an IV still in your arm! The doctor'll see you in just a few, so go lay back down. With a huff, Roma went back into his room and sat on a visitor chair and waited.

After a few minutes, just like the nurse said, the doctor came in and examined Roma. Nothing too unusual, apparently. Yes, he'd be leaving immediately, and he's clearly ready, isn't he? Roma was led to the check-out counter and signed what they told him to, and he walked out to the general lobby.

Merla's arms immediately wrapped around him. "Roma! I was so worried, I'm so glad you're okay!" He held him tight for what felt like a few minutes, then pulled back a bit, holding his arms. "The doctor told me you were exhausted. Did you get enough sleep the night before?"

"Yeah, I think so. I don't really get what happened. Things are a little fuzzy, especially after Curio evolved."

"Apparently, that's common when you lose consciousness like that. The last few bits and pieces get lost because you didn't have time to commit them to memory. At least, that's what the doctor said."

"Huh."

They walked over to the common area and sat down. Merla'd made breakfast, a simple affair of toast and scrambled eggs. As they ate, Roma and Merla talked about what happened after Roma fell unconscious: he _did_ have to be disqualified after he collapsed due to medical concerns, so Merla _was_ moved up to the next battle. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't battle Snowcap, but it couldn't be helped; she'd just have to do it some other time. Ramson entered the Contest and was holding the TM Reader right now, and he'll be using Curio.

"I knew that part." At Merla's confusion, he explained what he witnessed outside his window last night. "Actually, where is Ramson, anyway? Shouldn't he be here?"

"Oh, he's outside," she said with a gesture. "Could you bring him his breakfast when you go see him? He's been practicing since the sun came up, and he needs to eat something." She handed him a plate, and Roma walked out to the fields behind the Center.

Contrary to what he was expecting, Ramson was sitting on a bench, body bent over a book in his lap, scribbling things down and scratching them out as soon as he wrote them. "C'mon it's on the tip of my tongue. S-G-N-P, S-G-N-P."

"What's going on?" Roma asked.

"Huh?" Ramson's head snapped up. His eyes had slight, dark circles beneath them; he clearly hadn't slept well last night. "Oh, it's just you. Nothin', I'm just tryin' to figure out a good mnemonic for this."

"A mnemonic?" Roma had no clue what that was. He set Ramson's food beside him, then sat down. "What is that?"

"It's a memory thing. You come with a clever phrase or a weird word, and then whatever it represents is easier to remember. Stuff like how move types interact, or in my case, the Appeal types."

Roma nodded. "Alright. Can you give me an example?"

"Yeah, I've got this one for the Appeal types. It goes, 'Cut The Creamy Butter Cold'." Ramson brought his hand down like a knife cutting a pat of butter.

Roma lowered his head. "Well, it's a weird phrase, alright. Last night, didn't you say those appeal types were-"

"Wait, you heard that?"

"You were right below my window." Roma pointed to the room he'd stayed in, a little farther down the wall. "Just over there."

"Huh, can't believe that. I guess you get lucky sometimes. Anyway, yeah, I used that mnemonic for the Appeal types. Now, I'm trying to figure one out for this." Ramson showed him his notes, a very-nice-looking pile of squiggles marred by sctratch marks.

Roma let out a small sigh. "Ramson, I can't read this at all."

"What? Seriously?" Ramson's face said he'd been thrown at that. "This is just cursive, man. What the hell do they teach you at Trainer School?"

"I've been home-schooled for the past eight years," Roma said simply.

Ramson flinched. "Uh, sorry. That was rude of me," he mumbled.

"It's fine." Roma waved it off. "I got it a lot last time, too."

"Uh, well, I've gotta worry about this thing about Startling and Nerves. See, if you get hit by 'em, it messes with your Appeal for the round, one way or another. If you get Startled -" His face drew in. "- no, uh, yeah - if you're Startled, the judges take points off your score. Meanwhile, if you get Nervous, your Pokémon can't even use a move that round.

"But if you use certain moves, then they keep your Pokémon focused on the battle, and the judges like that, besides. So, then, you gotta keep in mind that..." Trailing off, he looked at his notes. "Guardin' protects against Startling, and bein' Pumped stops Nerves, but they each only work once."

"So, G goes with S, and P goes with N?" Roma asked.

"Yeah, G-S, P-N." Ramson blinked. "Wait, G-S-P-N?" He drew in a sharp breath. "Gaspin'!" He slammed his hand down. "Yes!"

"Gasping?"

"Yeah! 'If you don't remember what stops what, you'll be "gaspin'"!'" He scrabbled the text on the page. "G-S-P-N, gaspin'!" He punctuated the statement with a flourish of the pen. "That's another one down. Just a few more to go! Mind if I pick your brain a bit, Roma? Clearly, I could use the fresh set of eyes."

"Uh, sure. I'm not sure what help I'll be, but I'll try. But while we're doing this, you should probably eat." He picked up the plate again and handed it to him.

"Oh, yeah, good idea." His head twitched up to the sky subconsciously. "I've been up for a bit, haven't I?" He set down his pen and picked up the fork. "So," he said, his mouth full of scrambled egg, "there's this other thing I gotta keep in mind..."


	21. The First Time

Ramson put his right hand to his chest and felt his heart. It was still going at around a thousand miles a minute, but when you're nervous, what can you expect? He turned around to scan the audience for familiar faces. There was Aggy, sitting front and center at a bench by the commentators. Merla was over in the stands, talking to someone - the person she'd just battled. Roma sat beside her, following the conversation she was having while he ran through Curio's fur with a brush. Ramson took a deep breath to steady himself. He wasn't even going first today - actually, he was going last in the second Contest today, so he was starting dead last. At least, that's how he felt. 

He glanced down at the TM in his hand. Last night, Kaoru had brought it to him, and told him to use it last in a round. He taught it to Zubat, even though he didn't see why he would use it. Wasn't the point of a Contest to get the most points, and be first in the round? Shaking his head, he put the TM away and ran through a few mnemonics one last time.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," Terry said, "here's the moment we were hired for: the Buna-Shimeji Pokémon Contest!"

"As a reminder to our contestants," Virgil said to the three people on the stage, "the theme for this Contest is 'Beauty'."

"Yes, Beauty! When you really think about it, it's one of the most important parts of a Contest. After all, what's the point of winning if you don't make it look easy? Daring-do's well and good, and so're those warm fuzzy feelings, but right now the important part is making it look effortless!" Ramson checked his notes to make sure - yes, Cool and Cute were good with Beauty, but not Clever or Tough.

"There's going to be two Contests today, and two tomorrow, for Silver Ribbons. After that, the winners of those Contests will proceed to the finale Contest for the Gold Ribbon. As a reminder, you'll need seven points to enter the Master-Class Contest. Silvers are worth one, Golds are worth two."

"And you can't double up!" Terry interjected. "I can't wait to see who wins this one. After all, we've got some great veterans here - even got one today, in fact."

"That would be our first Contestant, Kaoru Kinoko, right?" Kaoru stood and walked forward on the stage with her Smeargle for the Show Appeal.

"That's exactly right, Virgil. Miss Kinoko, age 20, is a regular at Contests, despite emerging onto the scene a scant four years ago. She's in practically every Contest she can get to, and she even balances it with helping her father's company run smooth as silk. Her favorite Appeal type's Cute, but her preferred Pokémon type is Ground!"

"It's a mismatch, but she's got the chops to pull it off. She's gotten the Crystal Ribbon four times already, including last year. She technically doesn't even need to be here."

"But with the competition as stiff as it'll be, it's not like she can turn down the practice. Now, with her is her Smeargle. You wanna know something interesting? Smeargle can learn any move! Ain't that something."

"Certainly. I like the way their paint can change color when they perform certain moves. When they use Fire-type moves, it'll even cool and harden like real stone." Ramson's eyes darted to the stands, where Roma and Merla were talking about something - probably Smeargle, if he had to guess.

"Next up is that sweet young thing, Catgrass. She's 5'2, and her preferred type, obviously, is Grass." Terry went on describing the rest of the contestants, and the round began. Ramson tried to look for any patterns in the performances, but couldn't pick anything out in particular. A lot of the subtler things must have been going over his head. 

"And that's game!" Terry said, after the fourth round. "Seems like the judges are done. Let's pull up the results, shall we?" He clicked a button, and the projection shifted to the four contestants' pictures. A bar slowly filled beneath each one. One by one, they stopped, except the one under Kaoru's picture. It kept going for an extra few seconds, then hit the other side. "Kaoru Kinoko wins, in a hands-down victory!"

"She'll recieve the Silver Buna-Shimeji Ribbon, and is eligible for the Gold Contest," Virgil said. "A strong showing. Here's hoping she brings her A-Game for that."

"Took the words out of my mouth, Virgil. We'll take a five-minute break to let everyone shuffle around, then get right back into it!"

Ramson's heart nearly leapt up his throat. Trying to ignore the buzzing in his ears, he made his way over to the seat someone - Kaoru - Kaoru pointed him to. "You'll be fine, Ramson," she whispered in his ear. "Just don't panic."

A shiver went up his spine. "Personal space, please!" he hissed back. She waved goodbye and walked down the stage. Had she even heard him...?

The five minutes went by all too quickly. "Everybody ready?" Terry said. "We are back and the second Contest of the day is about. To. Start!" He paused for cheers from the sudience.

"The judges'll be looking for Beautiful Appeals today, folks," Virgil said. "Put your best feet forward. First up is Madame Milady." The woman at Ramson's far left stood and wheeled a pool of water forward. A flat fish shaped like a heart flew from it, red streaks flying from the backs of its eyes like a mask. "Looks like she's using her Luvdisc," Virgil commented as it took another leap from the pool with a great splash.

"Using a Water-type, and a Fire-type! Not a bad plan," Terry said. "Madame Milady is, of course, here to obtain a Silver Ribbon. She's got six points already, so she's in a good spot."

"That said, she's a relative newbie," Virgil replied. "Her choice of Luvdisc won't do her many favors, either - it has a notoriously poor set of moves to choose from, and most of them are Cute, to boot. Still, if it's only a Silver, she could do it."

Milady returned to her seat, pulling the pool to the side of her seat. At his own cue, the next man stood to show off a hot pink bug with black markings in the shape of a face on its own face. "It looks like Haga's going with a Hideushi," Terry said. "Bug-Fairy type seems like a mismatch to me."

"It is," Virgil said. "Hideushi's better off in a Clever Contest, and Haga knows that. He'll probably try using disruptive strategies against his opponents. At least, that's all that could possibly work."

"Ugly little thing, isn't it?" Terry said with a nod. The bug curled in on itself in shame when it heard him say so. Haga bent down to try to console the bug. "Well, next up is Dr. Eyeball and his mad concoctions!" The third person, who'd covered their upper face with an eyeball mask, stood and opened his white lab coat - actually, that was just a trenchcoat soaked in bleach. He opened his trenchcoat and from it emerged a red blob of molten stone, with two yellow eyes and a trail of gloop dripping from where its mouth could have been. "Looks like he brought his Slugma, and he also remembered his fireproof clothes this time."

"He'd better have," Virgil mumbled with a shiver. "More to the point, a Fire-type move here could be pretty useful. I just hope his... esoteric tactics won't cause him any issues here."

"Last up, a newcomer to the Contest circuit, Ramson Skordo and his Zubat!" Ramson stood from his chair and walked forward, and Zubat followed him. Like they'd practiced the night before, Zubat did a few flips in the air as Ramson took a simple bow. "He's 6'2", and he's from Vidalia, Allia. No declared type, but that's because it's his debut Contest!" Briefly, Ramson wondered where Terry'd heard where he was from. Then, he realized he'd put it on his entry forms.

"He'll be using a Zubat, too. Ghost and Flying are good complements, but don't quite match up with Beauty."

"Yeah, seems like this'll be a low-scorer. But hey, it makes it more suspenseful than a runaway victory. I'd say it's a good environment to try some stuff out, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Ramson's Zubat can do."

"Heaven forbid we keep you in suspense." Virgil said sotto voce, as he checked the monitor in front of him. "Judges are reading go, so let's begin Move Appeal!" He played a short jingle to signal the start of the round. "First up -" The screen blinked. "- Madame Milady!"

Milady stood and threw her hand out. "Lovey, Charm!" The Luvdisc leapt out of the water and floundered in the air, sending a spray of rainbow-glinting hearts all around itself and landing in the pool with a splash. It leapt up again and sent off another spray, and again. Milady hesitated after the third volley, then bowed and returned to her seat. The crowd clapped politely and cheered a little.

"A decent showing," Virgil said as he checked the monitor again. "Next up, Haga!"

"Masahide!" Haga threw his head back with a flourish. "We'll use Tackle!" The bug scrunched itself up and leapt forward, spinning through the air to the crowd's moderate cheering. It twisted itself like a spring and leapt into the air and landed on its head. Crying, it went back to its Trainer, who let it into his lap and told it that it did a good job.

"Very nice, very nice," Virgil said.

"Simple is usually better for these kinds of Contests," Terry said. "I'd say that'll go over well with the judges."

"Certainly," he replied. "Third in this round is Dr. Eyeball, and his Slugma." Dr. Eyeball stood and let his Slugma loose, commanding it to spray a great volley of embers into the air with its Ember attack. After the Appeal, he sat down, a smug look on his face and aimed at Ramson, as if to say, "Don't even bother trying. I'm going to win." Contrary to his intention, that soothed Ramson's nerves, out of spite if nothing else.

"Shame it's just Cute, isn't it?" said Terry about the Ember. "And finally, Ramson Skordo!" Ramson stood and Zubat followed him. Ramson called for Zubat to use Facade, just like they went over last night. Zubat nodded, then curled his body into a corkscrew. Releasing the turn, he spun through the air, flashing in a myriad of colors. One second he was blue, then red, then back to purple, only to turn yellow. He soon settled on his regular purple and perched on top of Ramson's head, to decent applause.

"There's something to be said about a special approach," Terry said for the round wrap-up. "That Facade is twice as nice at the end of a round, right?"

"It is, but it's fairly weak otherwise," Virgil said. "Still, against a regular opponent, it's usually enough to bring you to first." The computer beeped. "Ah, speaking of, we've got the new schedule."

"Yes, it looks like we'll be looking at Haga first, then Dr. Eyeball, Ramson Skordo, and finally, Madame Milady!" Ramson nodded. At least he'd passed one person up. Now, for the other two.

Round two had seemed easy; Haga started off by using Baby-Doll Eyes, which didn't seem to excite the crowd very much at all. However, it did make it difficult to tell whether anyone had beat him; as a quick move, it meant the judges would set Haga's Hideushi up earlier in the next round. At least, that's what Ramson remembered from Kaoru's training. Dr. Eyeball had used Ember again, and the crowd seems less enthused by the simple attack. That matched up with what Ramson had learned, too - and meant only good things for him.

"Zubat, Steel Wing!" The TM they'd gotten from Nikki (Ramson guessed) pulled its weight as a part of Ramson's strategy. It was a strong Appeal, and it only got better as long as someone used a Cool move during the round. Neither of them had, but it would be invaluable if they ever showed any such chance. Madame Milady finished off the round, using Flame Charge, and getting the kind of polite applause you heard after a flat karaoke performance.

The order for the next round had been the same as before, and started out as easy. Haga called for a String Shot, and managed to Startle the person who went ahead of him; in other words, he floundered. Ramson muttered under his breath, "C'mon, man, you can't spook a ghost." Dr. Eyeball used Ember again, drawing even less applause. Ramson stood and called for Absorb; it barely matched the Type of the Contest, but on raw Appeal, it was apparently the best move he had.

Which was why it hurt so bad when he heard the voice of Madame Milady. "Lovey, Charm!" she'd said, with a slight satisfaction. The Luvdisc leapt from the water and launched a volley of rainbow hearts into the air like so much chaff. Their reflections from the water and each other completely stole the attention of the crowd, and with it, Ramson's Appeal.

It was no surprise that Ramson hadn't moved up; in fact, no-one had. The order was the same as last round. Haga used Bady-Doll Eyes, despite its extra effect going to waste; the last round wouldn't have anyone go first after it, after all. Dr. Eyeball used Ember, as Ramson expected. He got about a single clap from each member of the audience, if he had to estimate. Ramson's Wing Attack had gone over well by contrast, scoring a round of applause. Milady using Flame Charge ended off the fourth and final round.

"Well, it seems like that Contest just sped by!" Terry said. "I don't know about the judges, but I've got a favorite."

"I think it's pretty clear who won," Virgil said. "That Contestant shone above the rest, quite clearly."

Dr. Eyeball leaned over and whispered, "I bet it's me."

"No bet," Ramson whispered back. By this point, he was a little sick of this guy's smug attitude, and his poor performance. He wondered if Dr. Eyeball even knew the first thing about Contests? At least Ramson had gotten a crash course.

"Here we go, folks!" Terry said. "The winner is!" Tension mounted in that split second. The real question was, had Ramson pushed hard enough to overcome Haga? He leaned forward.

"Ramson Skordo! Congratulations on your successful debut!" Terry gave him a round of applause, as did the audience. Ramson blushed. He'd done it. The judges had liked what he'd done. He gave a bow, just as he'd practiced. He could really get used to this.

Still a little lightheaded, maybe from lack of sleep, he strode down the stairs and met Roma and Merla.

"Ramson," Merla said. "I'm impressed that you won on your first try."

"Zubat did well," Roma said. "You must have practiced really hard last night."

Ramson nodded. "Yeah, I've been runnin' on spite for the past half-hour or so."

"Spite?" Merla asked.

"Yeah, that Dr. Eyeball guy was actin' real smug. You didn't notice?"

Merla tweaked the corner of her mouth. "Well, we weren't here for the whole thing."

"You missed part of it?" he asked, a little distraught. "You didn't think it was important enough to stick around for?"

"What? No, no! It was, and we did see the whole thing."

Ramson was confused. How exactly did that make any sense? "What do you mean? How could you see the whole thing, and not be here for it at the same time?" The light shone on his face. "Time - you time traveled."

"Merla wanted to talk to the person she fought yesterday," Roma said. "He'd already left town for his farm, though."

"His Berry farm, as I found out today," Merla supplied. "Specifically, the Figy family of Berries. I thought they'd be useful, and besides -"

"- we're already trying to find them for Ms. Dooley anyway," Roma said, pulling out his Pokégear and pulling up the Celebook. "See?" Roma presented the green screen to Ramson, who couldn't read any of it. "Oh, right."

"The Celebook was ready to time-travel," Merla said, "so we went. After we came back, I've got to admit, I got caught up in my own thoughts."

"So, that's what happened." Ramson stared at them, mouth slightly agape. "Guess I can't blame you for bein' distracted. But, at least you saw me win the Silver Ribbon. I can't complain about that."

"I'm glad you're understanding," Merla said. "Alright, so after I win the tournament and you get the Gold Ribbon, we'll head out -"

"That's not so simple," said the Kaoru Kinoko who inserted herself into the conversation.

Ramson leapt back with a shriek. "Warn a guy next time, dammit!" He felt his heart - still beating, at least. Judging from Merla and Roma's reactions (gasping for her and throwing his arm in her direction for him), she'd snuck up on them, too.

Ducking under Roma's arm, she said, "I am sorry to bother you. I only wanted to congratulate Ramson properly."

Calming down from the shock, Ramson said, "Alright, then. Thanks."

"But I'd also like to remind you that you're fighting an uphill battle. Belle, Brace, and I are going to be strong opponents. Don't expect us to hold back for your sake, either. We're all trying to win." Kaoru's face was straight and stoic, without a hint of a dullness to the edge in her eyes.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"I'd also like to show you the results of the previous Contest, the one I'd participated in." She handed him a sheaf of paper and bade her goodbyes.

"Is she always like that?" Merla asked.

"No," Roma said, before Ramson could answer. "She seemed a lot more aggressive when she forced Ramson against the wall last night."

Merla blushed a deep red. "W-What did she do?!" She could scarcely get the words out of her mouth.

"What?!" Ramson said. "No, no, wait, she was shouting for me to-"

"Shouting for what?!"

"She wanted me to practice all night. She threw me against the wall and - wait, no, this is getting worse!" He buried his red face in his hands, let out an anguished groan. "What I mean is that she was -" he took a deep breath, tried to steady himself "- encouraging me to try hard in the Contest. That's it."

After the two of them had calmed down, while Roma stood there and wondered why they were getting so worked up, Ramson finally opened the packet of paper Kaoru had given him. "Alright," he said, "it looks like these are the results of the Contest Kaoru was just in."

"What's it say?" Roma asked.

"Hang on..." It looked a little like an office form, the way it was arranged. Kaoru's parts of the round had been highlighted.  
"'Round 1: Flame Wheel. Three Appeal, Plus Voltage, Plus one. Plus two for previous Appeal, Total Five.  
'Round 2: Baby-Doll Eyes. Two Appeal. Nil Voltage. Easy recovery.  
'Round 3: Flamethrower.'"

"Flamethrower?" Merla asked. "She's got access to that? How? The best way to get that is through the Matsuke Casino."

"No way..." Ramson muttered.

"Something wrong?"

"Right here." He showed her the paper, and the remainder of the entry: Four Appeal. Plus Voltage, to 5, Plus Five. Total Nine. Then, he pointed to the end, to each Contestant's totals: Five, Twelve, Eleven, and Kaoru's Twenty-One. "She's got almost as many points as both of the runner-ups combined!"

"That... certainly sounds impressive," she said. "It doesn't seem like too much of an issue, though. How many points did you get?"

Ramson paused, then ran over to an official. He went off and came back with a copy of the judges' notes for Ramson's contest.

He'd scored thirteen.


	22. Debut, Part Two

"Is this really the best use of your time?" Merla asked, sitting on the bench.

"Can you think of a better way?" Ramson shot back over his shoulder.

"Training with Curio, for one thing," Merla said. "You've got two days. Shouldn't you try to?"

Ramson paused and let his hands drop to the ground. "I guess you're right. Still, can't hurt to keep doin' this for a little bit."

Merla sighed. "Whatever you say, Ramson. Just let me know when you reach a hundred, and I'll hand Curio off." She started walking inside.

"Already at fifty seven!" He held up a large handful of clovers. "And I've just got to get to ninety nine."

Merla entered the kitchen, where Roma was hard at work cooking something in a pot. They exchanged pleasantries.

"I just don't get it," she said. "I guess it's harmless, but it seems like a waste of time."

Roma shrugged and lifted a bottle of some spice. "I don't really get it, either. It's not really my business, though." He sprinkled some in.

"No, but it probably counts as mine," Merla said. "He is taking Curio from me tomorrow to train, after all."

"Have you been working on his endurance?"

"Enough." She put her back to the counter. "It's not like he'll be able to run a gauntlet, but he'll manage a battle and a four-round contest."

"As long as you've done your part, it's out of your hands."

Merla rolled her eyes. "You could pretend to care, you know."

"I care." Roma tasted the pot of food, and it needed salt. "It just doesn't matter to me whether Ramson wins or loses, as long as he doesn't waste his chance. This is his first time, and it seems like Kaoru and her friends are professionals. He's already learned a lot."

"You're talking like he's already lost."

"He's a long shot, Merla. We both know that." Roma turned his head toward the door to the field in which Ramson had picked his seventy-third clover. "He does, too. If he loses, it won't be the end of the world."

* * *

"If Ramson doesn't win tomorrow, it'll be the end of the world," Kaoru said at a local coffee shop.

"You're exaggerating," Belle said.

"Guy ain't some fragile flower," Brace said. "He can handle one loss, Kaoru." He took a sip of coffee.

"I've already inconvenienced him. It's important to me that we get back in good graces."

"That ain't how you use that."

Kaoru blinked. "It's not? My mistake, I meant I want to be in _his_ good graces."

"It doesn't seem so important to me," Belle said. "You're rude to people sometimes."

"Yes, and I'm tired of it," Kaoru said, flicking her hand out. "This is the perfect time to turn over a new leaf, anyway."

"Being nice is not the same thing as tying sandbags to our legs, Kaoru."

"Well, I'm not asking to use bad moves for the Contest. I just think that..."

"He's a newbie," Brace said, "and if we put him down, he won't get up again?" He finished his cup and stood. "Like I said, I'm pretty sure he's made of stronger stuff than that. I saw him training with that deer just before I got here. I'm gettin' another cup."

"Oh!" Her hand gravitated to her purse. "Let me pay -"

"I got it."

* * *

It was the day of the Gold Ribbon Contest, and Ramson's stomach could hardly stand the wait. It flipped and whirled around in his body, driving him a little crazy. He'd refused breakfast, saying "If I eat now, I'll just bring it back up on stage."

"If you're sure, Ramson," Roma had replied, and fed it to a Trainer's Pokémon at the center. 

Now, Merla was up on the stage finishing up her match against some black-feathered bird with a narrow beak. The commentators cheered when she landed the finishing blow, "A stunning strike with Curio's Ice Fang! Super-duper effective! And Terapreza is down!"

"It's always a mistake not to expect good type coverage," said the other - Virgil. "Looks like Merla's won this battle without losing a single Pokémon. We'll be taking a twenty-minute intermission, then for the grand finale, the Gold Buna-Shimeji Contest, for this year's Beauty Ribbon!"

"Get ready for a series of sights and sounds that'll burn their way into your memory! This is going to be a great one!" The microphones clicked off.

Merla made her way backstage, where Ramson was waiting. "Alright, Ramson, here he is." Curio's ball was in her hand. "I'm glad the other Trainer had a Ground-type and a Grass-type."

"Yeah, his Fire-type moves should come in handy," he said as he took it.

"Ah, there's the famous Curio." Kaoru walked over to the duo with a smile. "So, you ready for the Contest?"

"I think so," Ramson said. "Last Contest, they said Ember was a Cute move -"

"Yep, sure is. But that won't be a problem - you've got other Fire-type moves, right?"

"Yeah, he's got... Incinerate, right?" Merla nodded. Kaoru, meanwhile, quirked her lip.

"Huh?" Brace's head turned to them. "Someone say Incinerate?"

"Yeah, Curio knows it."

"Incinerate's a Tough move. You got a good backup?"

Ramson glanced down at the ball in his hand. "Uh. Well, he's got that False Swipe move, and that Charge Beam thing. I know I saw him use those."

"Charge Beam is Beauty, but False Swipe is Cool," Belle said, worry creeping on her face. "What're his other moves?" She stared at Merla as she said it.

Merla closed her eyes for a moment. "The other three moves," she mumbled - The Contestants got tense, and leaned in to hear her better - , "are Ice Fang -" 

Belle looked down. 

"- Burst -"

Brace clicked his tongue.

"- and Growl."

Kaoru deflated. "Is that it?" she asked, her tone evidence enough she already knew the answer: Yes. It was. At Merla's confirmation, she turned to her fellow Contestants, grinned sheepishly. What do you think, her face said. Can he win with that?

Belle rolled her head a bit, and nodded sternly. It wouldn't be impossible, but it'll probably be beyond him.

At least, that's what Ramson read. "Well, thanks anyway, Merla. I appreciate the effort."

Merla snapped back to Ramson. "Oh, no, it's no problem. Curio's endurance was giving me issues anyway, so this really helped me, too."

He nodded. "Right."

She left the backstage, and Ramson slumped down into a chair. "Fourth place won't be so bad, I guess." he mumbled.

Kaoru gave her fellow competitors a _look_ , and the time until the Contest crawled by.

* * *

"Hello, everybody!" Terry said into his mic. "Hope everyone had a good break, because we're barreling right along to the finish!"

"It's the Gold Buna-Shimeji Contest," said Virgil. The Contestants sitting onstage right now are the best of the bunch, and they'll be bringing their A-game."

"Let's start with the little lady at stage right, shall we?"

Kaoru stood at Ramson's right, wearing a long-skirted blue dress with a sort-of-curly design on the left breast. She threw a Pokéball with a cry of, "Eighth-Bit, let's clear out the competition!" From it emerged a small mole wth huge claws built for digging, its brown and blue fur glinting in the afternoon sun. It took a bow, and went through a short set of poses.

"Kaoru Kinoko's staple Pokémon, Eight-Bit, is it?"

"Drilbur are common around Route 15, aren't they? A little far from her Calvatia home, isn't it?"

"Sure, but you can't throw a rock and not hit five on Route 15."

"Makes sense, then. They've been doing a lot of construction over there, haven't they?"

"From what I hear, they're tearing up the place! She's been workin' for years to be the best Cute trainer, too. Gotta admire that dedication."

"Hear, hear," said Virgil. Kaoru sat down, her routine done. "Next up, Ramson Skordo! He signed up late, didn't he?"

"He did, indeed!" Ramson stood and threw Curio's Pokéball. "Er. Wait a sec."

"Is that - it couldn't be the same Flarebuck, right?" Virgil said, his mouth drawn away from the mic.

"I think it might be," Terry said, his voice also muffled by distance. He flipped over a paper. "Wait, hang on, I've got - Okay!" He leaned back in. "Seems like we've got an upset for the Buna-Shimeji Sweet Potato Festival! For the first time, a finalist for the Contest is using a Pokémon from the battle's winner!" The crowd murmured and gossiped. "Seems Ramson and Merla know each other, huh?"

"Well, we've seen what Flarebuck can do in battle," Virgil said, regaining his composure. "It had quite a few moves at its disposal. How well will it translate to the Contest stage?"

"This is gonna really be something special!" 

Ramson sat down and Curio walked back to him. "Well, we're under the microscope now."

"That's a spotlight, Ramson," Kaoru said. "It's the good kind of light, I promise."

Brace, clad in a two-piece suit, stood at his cue and sent out a Corsola - the same one as yesterday? "Oh, ho!" Terry said. "Looks like he's got Prise for the final round!"

"His other Corsola was built on raw appeal yesterday - reasonable, given the relative level of his competition."

"We'll see how Passant and Prise differ, right?!" Terry threw the question to Brace, who spiked it back with a resounding hell, yeah! The crowd laughed lightly.

"Chanterelle's pretty far off from the oceans where Corsola live," Virgil supplied. "It really does speak volumes how he not only found twin Corsola, but raised them to both be powerful competitors."

"And all in about three months! Even out of his comfort zone, he's a force to be reckoned with." Brace and his Corsola returned to his seat, and Belle rose.

"Last," Terry said, "but certainly not least is our local bit-fauncher, Be~elle DuBall!" She, wearing a pale dress with hidden sparkles that complemented her complexion, sent out a black lamp with a glowing purple flame inside. "It's her Lampent, Periwink! Bit of an odd choice, but if she wants her to get the experience, there's no better time."

"Periwink used to cause trouble for the residents of this fair city, I remember last year."

"Yeah, nearly burnt down some of the booths! Something that small, you wouldn't think it could use Inferno!"

Ramson looked at the two-foot-tall lamp, and silently agreed. "Well, that's the last of 'em, and we're going to be getting into Round One now! So Kaoru, let's see what you start us off with! Let's get it on!"

Kaoru nodded. "Eighth-Bit, let's get pumped! Swords Dance!" The Drilbur acknowledged the order, then drew a deep breath with eyes closed. Opening them with new intensity, Eighth-Bit threw its claws out and spun them around its body in a whirl, spinning on its tiptoes in a waltz rhythm. One-two-three, tip-toe-tip. Around it spun, and came to a bow.

The crowd applauded lightly. "A gourgeous opening move by Kaoru," Virgil said. "We'll be seeing that pay dividends later."

"Next up, Ramson!" Ramson stood.

Ramson took a second to steady himself. "Curio." The Flarebuck looked back. "Use Ice Fang." He nodded and stepped forward, fangs bared. Forcing them to glow with a chilling energy, Curio snapped viciously at an invisible opponent, whirling his head left and right to cover all his sides. He swirled back to nip at someone behind him, taking care to brace his leg so he wouldn't fall. "Alright," Ramson said.

The crowd seemed to enjoy it, much to Ramson's relief. "Nice first round by Ramson! Next up, Brace Knightley!"

Brace hurled his body up. "Prise, we'll use Round." The Corsola began to sing a haunting tune, nearly familiar in some way to Ramson's ears. Where had he heard it before...?

"Periwink," Belle said as Brace's head snapped to her, "accompany it, if you would." The Lampent took up a harmony to match the other song. Could she even do that, go out of turn like that?!

"Ooh, looks like Round backfired on Brace," Terry said with a wince. "Had to put the idea in her head, huh?"

"Of course, Belle's Round would have worked the same either way, but it is always nice to see the look on someone's face when that happens."

The next round's order would be Belle, then Ramson, Brace, and Kaoru. Ramson looked up when he heard it. He'd done second best? That was ... better than he'd expected.

"Periwink, Fire Spin!" The Lampent began to spin, encircling the arena with thin, glowing rings of blue fire. They twirled themselves in and out, lighting the area with their wonderful, warming glow.

"Ahh... Fire Spin's always nice to sit in front of," Terry said. "Can't be beat, huh, Virgil?"

"It's tough to think of anything that can beat it. A good Fire Spin act is difficult to follow."

Ramson nodded. That probably meant the crowd would be more relaxed than usual, and less excitable. He shook his head and stood anyway. "Curio, False Swipe!" Curio lit his fangs up again, this time in a dull grey-white, and stared down his fake opponent. He darted to the right and bucked. In the air, he swiped with the front of his tooth, then bounded to the left with the same, and finally a strike from the back, dealing exactly enough damage to incapacitate his foe ... well, if there was one.

"And he manages to pull through," Terry said. "It won't excite the audience back up, but it's certainly not a bad tactic."

Brace went next, and called for Water Pulse from his Corsola. The blues that emanated from the ball of shining water were ones Ramson could scarcely find the words to describe.

"Yet another strong appeal," Virgil said. "This round is looking tough."

"Eighth-Bit, Round!" That same haunting refrain began again - and coming from the small mole's throat, Ramson felt at the same time closer and farther than ever to the song's origin. The audience gave it what felt like the most praise, so it was no surprise Kaoru went first next round.

"Terraform!"

"What?!" Brace swiveled to face her. "Why?"

"I've got my reasons," Kaoru said. Her expression was unreadable. Her Drilbur, meanwhile, had begun stirring the stage ground like it was some kind of pot. With a great heave, it hurled its arms up - and the wooden blocks making up the stage rotated a full 180 degrees, so that their bottoms now faced the open air and their top were buried deep.

"Ooh, a Tough move, here? That's going to go over as well as a lead Drifblim."

"Actually, I think there are lead Drifblim," Virgil replied. "Belle, you're next."

Kaoru sat down. "Two," she said. Its significance was lost on Ramson.

Belle, however, snorted. "So, it's like that, eh?" She stood. "Heat Wave, Periwink! At the stage!" The Lampent pushed its arms above its head and sucked in a great gulp of air. Trembling, it spun around and created an arid blast of crackling, burning wind, directed at the stage's center, drying and cracking the dirt that lay on it.

"And that's going to make the whole thing even worse for Kaoru," Terry said. "I doubt she'll even go fourth next round."

"There's only four spots," Virgil said. "Regardless, Brace is up next."

"Bubble Beam!" Prise fired a great and terrible stream of filmy bubbles that clung to the floor's dry dirt and made a pile of foam.

"That's four," Kaoru said.

"Is that really necessary?" Belle scoffed.

"What are you - " Ramson realized. Counting up all the attacks that were especially Beautiful, except Brace's Water Pulse and Kaoru's Round that came after the Fire Spin relaxed the audience, there'd been six Beautiful moves. Terraform and False Swipe had each dropped the Voltage down once, which meant - !

"The next Beautiful move will be a great Appeal."

Kaoru nodded, as Brace's Appeal ended. "You know what to do, right?"

Ramson closed his eyes and tried to remember the things that Merla had said Curio could do. He felt his lips move and call something to buy time - Growl? Yeah, it was Growl. Curio only had one Beautiful move, and it was Charge Beam. Oh, he should have used that at the start! It would have given all his moves a boost. Too little, too late, Ramson supposed.

So, what was left? What hadn't he used? He really couldn't use Growl again. Ice Fang and False Swipe might be useful, but it wouldn't necessarily guarantee the win. What kind of big, flashy move could he -

Something big? And flashy? That Curio had no reason to know? That felt familiar...

Snowcap knew a really powerful leaf move, didn't she? Ramson saw it, all the leaves that exploded from the top of the fishing hole. That move ... it was some kind of leaf storm, right?

* * *

"It was some kind of leaf storm, right?" Ramson asked.

"Yeah, it was," Roma said, placing his hand on the bench outside the Pokémon Center. "Well, not exactly. Snowcap doesn't know that yet, after all."

"So, how'd you teach it to her?" Ramson asked.

"I made it up. See, she knows Leafage, and Razor Leaf. So, Merla and I made up this ultimate attack - well, I guess Merla didn't this time."

"The Merla from the other time, huh. You guys did a lot like that?"

"Yeah, it's why I experiment with my Pokémon's moves. I'm really just trying to mimic what Merla does." Roma rubbed his head sheepishly. "Did you see that Retreat Charge a couple days ago? I wouldn't have thought of that."

Ramson nodded. "So what's the fake leaf storm called?"

"It's called Mille Feuille. According to Merla, it means 'a thousand leaves'."

"It's also a kind of cake," Ramson said, and the conversation had drifted a bit from there...

* * *

"A thousand..." Ramson muttered.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kaoru said. "Wait, never mind. The next round'll start when you stand up, and you've got to do it soon. Now, I can't tell you what to do, because that's cheating. But you _do_ know what to do, right?"

Ramson nodded. "Yeah, I do. Quick question, though."

"Shoot."

"What's the Kalosian word for flame?"

Brace leaned over. "It's just 'flamme'," he said. "Got family from Kalos," he added after Kaoru looked at him aksance.

"Thanks."

"No problem. What you need it for?"

"A hunch," Ramson said, and stood. "Ready, Curio?"

Curio nodded.

"Alright." He threw his arm out. "Mille Flammes!"

"Mill what?!" Kaoru shouted. "This is no time to improvise, Ramson!"

Merla reacted to Ramson's shout just like he expected: with surprise and amazement. Curio took in an incredible breath, his entire body stretched taut with the effort of keeping all the air contained. He opened his mouth, and a sky-searing white gout of flame shot into the air, curling into the sky and warping the very air around it, bright sparks leaping from its very edges.

And then another pair of them shot from Curio's frontmost spots.

And two more from the next set.

And the last two, leaving the deer looking much like a firework sparkler.

The fires died in an instant, their fuel spent. They left behind their trembling creator, the picture of a newborn fawn. Huh, funny, Curio thought. He'd thought he'd passed this stage by now.

The crowd roared, a great din that threatened to even swallow the announcer's commentary, were it not for their microphones. Virgil was first to speak. "Incredible! That was Overheat!"

"Who even knew that Curio learned that?! Simply breathtaking!"

"The judges are going to love that." Curio started shakily walking back to Ramson's side.

Belle stood, as she was next. "Periwink, Ih!" The word caught in her throat. Her eyes darted to Ramson, slumped over in his chair at the sight that had been before him. They drifted to the girl occupying the far chair, in much the same state. Belle pursed her lips. "Periwink! Astonish!"

Periwink drew itself onto the field, covering its face with its arms. It darted over to Curio's side and swung its arms outward, creating an awful sound. Curio leapt nearly a foot in the air and landed, his already shaky legs nearly giving way. Nevertheless, he continued his walk.

"Ooh, taking advantage of a weakened opponent! Ruthless, Belle, ruthless!"

Belle smiled and waved. "Well, regardless," Virgil said. "Belle's gone, so next is Brace, then Kaoru finishes the Contest.

Brace scoffed. "Well, crap. Prise, use Scald, I guess. Doesn't matter at this point, huh."

Kaoru gave herself a light smack to the cheeks to rouse herself. "Right, back to the Contest."

Prise's Scald failed to impress the audience much, and Eighth-Bit's Return did better.

"The Contest is over!" Terry called. "All we're waiting on is final results! Everyone, be sure to wait on the stage for your Ribbons."

Brace nodded. "Congratulations, man."

Ramson looked at him. "You really think I won?"

"Of course. You at least beat me, though that ain't much of an accomplishment, admittedly."

"I was impressed by your performance," Belle said. "For starting out, you pulled off quite the spectacle."

"And the results are in!" Terry shouted. "In fourth place, Brace Knightley, who put in as much as he could!"

Brace nodded. "Of course."

"Third place is Kaoru Kinoko, who pulled through in the last round!"

"It was worth the experience."

"In second, Belle DuBall, who pushed hard and nearly made it all the way up the ladder!"

She shrugged. "The way it goes, I guess."

"And in first, who wowed us with that incredible Overheat Appeal, and showed us some incredible raw talent - congratulations on your debut, Ramson Skordo! You're starting off strong!" The crowd cheered and applauded at Ramson's name, leaving him stunned. It was a wave of bright, inviting noise crashing against him, and he sat in a daze in the face of it.

Merla walked up to the stage when she was called up for the closing ceremony and Ribbon-giving. Then, Pop walked up to the stage and delivered some kind of speech about the festival itself. Ramson clawed himself back to reality to listen.

"Another Sweet Potato Festival gone by," he said, "and another harvest done. I remember when I was a kid at my dad's side, the place seemed so big. I guess it does now, too, now that people come from all around just to get a taste! Even when things got rough, we've managed to do great things. I can't have asked for better. I gotta thank all of you for making this festival what it is: something we can all enjoy.

"Now, I've got five Ribbons here." He held up a small blue box, and a smaller, gray metal one. "When I call your name, come up and recieve your Ribbon..." The four Contestants got their Ribbons without incident, Ramson's Gold Ribbon being saved for last. Looking at Brace's Silver Ribbon beside him, Ramson's was similar: a metal pin shaped like a sweet potato, with a blooming flower in the center, and a trailing strip of blue fabric. Where Ramson's differed, however, was that his Ribbon's pin was almost entirely in gold, with the flower's petals almost white by comparison. Its ribbon trail had a white stripe drawing down its center, woven into the fabric itself.

"...Merla Traub," Pop finished. Merla, looking around, snapped back to the stage and walked up. "This is for winnin' the tournament. It's the Tournament Ribbon. Treat it well." Merla took it and walked back to her seat. It looked like a stamp, Ramson thought, the way its metal plate had a thick outer ring and a thin center. Its trail was orange, but had been dyed at the bottom Buna Potato purple.

The five of them were ushered before a photographer. His three opponents stood behind him, posing along with the Pokémon they'd used in the final round. Ramson found himself pulled up beside Merla, Curio setting himself between them and his Zubat at his other side. "Everybody," said the photographer, "say, 'Sweet Potato!'"

"Sweet Potato!" The light flashed. The next half an hour blurred and muddled together, people moving on and offstage in one last party before the festival unofficially ended.

* * *

As things finally wound down, Kaoru pulled Belle aside. "So, that last round," she started.

"Yes." Belle nodded. "It was something, wasn't it?

"I heard you hesitate," she said. "'Ih'. You planned to use Inferno, didn't you?"

Belle pursed her lips. "You would hear that, wouldn't you? Yes, I did."

"What changed your mind?"

Belle looked to Ramson, now talking with Merla and her friend, the boy who'd fainted. "You remember the talk we had yesterday? About Ramson being stronger than one loss?"

"I do," Kaoru said.

"Well, that Overheat was a risky move. If he were Brace, I would have gone through with it. It would have taught him a valuable lesson in not underestimating his opponents."

"But he wasn't thinking of that."

"No." Belle's fist clenched subconsciously. "If I'd used Inferno, it would have completely ruined his performance. I thought it would have been... a little bit too cruel."

"His Flarebuck could very well have collapsed," Kaoru agreed. "Not the best first Contest experience."

"Exactly. If it happened to me, it wouldn't be just one loss."

"It would mean you lost every bit of time and preparation up to that point, right?"

Belle paused. "I suppose. That's enough psychoanalysis, though, don't you think?"

Kaoru nodded. "I've got to go, anyway. I just need to give Ramson my regards, and then I leave for Route 15."

"Oh, already? You can't stay tonight?"

"Unfortunately. I'd love to have some time to relax, but this _isn't_ the time." They bid each other farewell, and Kaoru walked over to Ramson.

"Congratulations on your win," Kaoru said to the back of his head.

Ramson turned around. "Weird how I'm gettin' used to that," he said. "Thanks, Kaoru. Your advice really helped."

"Try to study up for next time. Where are you heading now?"

Ramson looked to Merla and their friend. "I think it's Morchella, right?" Merla nodded.

"Then, we'll be seeing you in Porcini next?"

"A Contest in Porcini? Honestly, I'm not exactly sure if I'm gonna keep going."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"We'll be passing through Porcini on the way to Matsuke City," said the boy. "What day is it?"

"Every other Sunday," Kaoru said, "more or less. I'm sure you can look up the proper schedule online. I'm sure you'll be able to make time, no?"

Ramson nodded. "I guess we'll see. First, I need to catch another Pokémon, though."

"Try searching for a Ghost-type. They do well in Clever Contests." She turned to the volcano. "If you're heading North, you could make a stop on Route 13 and find one."

"There's a Route in that volcano?" Ramson asked.

"No," Merla interjected, "but there are two that go out of it. Route 13 is at the western exit, and Route 5 at the northern one."

"Think about it," Kaoru said. "You've got some natural talent. I'd hate to see it go to waste."

"I got lucky," Ramson said.

"Do you really think that? Not many people would have picked up on 'two' as a hint."

"I only know about that because Belle explained it."

"But you took advantage of it remarkably well. With some polish, you could do well." She turned to go. "I hope you'll at least catch that other Ghost-type, yes? Farewell."

* * *

As the night wore on, the trio decided to head back to the Pokémon Center to get some rest before they went off tomorrow.

They'd only just sat down when a girl walked up to them, her fuzzy blond hair pulled back in a loose bun and her arms cradling a book of some kind. "Excuse me," she said. "Do you happen to know where I could find Merla Traub?"

Merla raised her hand. "That would be me," she said. "Can I help you, Miss..."

"Oh!" She held out an arm. "Allison. I just wanted to talk to you about your Pokémon's Overheat that I heard your friend Ramson used today."

Merla's head drifted up slightly. "Of course. Go ahead."

"Well, how did you teach it such a powerful move?"

"It was a combination of two different moves, actually. Using Incinerate on an already existing Ember attack causes -"

"Wait, huh?" Roma spoke up. "Why are _you_ here?"

Allison was taken aback. "I-I'm sorry? Do I - Have we met before?"

Roma leaned over to Merla and Ramson, his Pokégear in his hand. "I was looking through Celebook, and this just showed up."

"What's it say?" Merla whispered.

"Not much. I've only got her name so far." Roma and Merla kept whispering to each other.

Taking a leap to fill the conversational void, Ramson said, "So, Allison. You liked the Overheat, huh?"

She turned to him, and after a second, said, "Oh, yes. You must be Mr. Skordo. I'm sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting something."

"Ah, yeah, I am." _Must_ be? "What kind of book is that you got there?"

"Hm?" She turned to her book. "Oh, this is just a book I found in the local library about different moves."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, things like Round and Tackle - the really simple moves - well, relatively."

"Those're usually pretty good ones in Contests, from what I heard."

"Are they? I've never really followed the Contest circuit, in all honesty."

"Huh. So do you do Pokémon battles, then?"

"Well, no. My family has a different kind of business." She deflated a bit. "We're a family of Move Tutors."

"Really?" Ramson's face remained blank. "What's a Move Tutor?"

Allison blinked. "You don't know what a Move Tutor is?"

"Why would I ask if I did?"

She paused. "Good point. Well, a Move Tutor teaches Pokémon moves they don't normally learn, sort of like a TM does, only it's a person doing the teaching."

Ramson nodded. "Alright. So, the book you've got will show you some moves you can teach a Pokémon?"

Her face fell. "It really won't. This is just some study about move energy. I can't understand a word of it."

He sucked in a breath. "That sucks. There any other way to learn this stuff? From how you said family earlier, I take it you don't to go to 'em for advice?"

"Exactly. But, it looks like I've got no choice at this point. My last resort was a failure."

"What were you trying to do?"

She sat down on the chair beside him. "I was in an auction yesterday for a book that might have helped. It was written by a Move Tutor, you see."

"But somebody outbid you, I take it."

"Exactly, and by just ¥500, too! I had enough money, I was willing to spend it. I guess it was bad luck that I got pulled away."

"What the heck?" Roma said.

"It's flashing now," Merla said. "Doesn't that mean - "

Roma nodded. "Ramson, you ready?"

"Uh, yeah. Let's go."

"You're leaving already?" Allison asked. "But -"

"I'll be right back, Allison. Just gotta go do something." The world exploded into green sparks then, and a distinct feeling tugged at Ramson's waist, what felt like a tether to Roma's body.

* * *

He stood in the Pokémon Center's lobby, the day before. Roma came through the door just as he got his head on straight. "Alright," Roma said. "What are we doing?"

"We're looking for Allison, and we've gotta tell her that she got outbid at her auction."

"Is that it?" he said as they exited the Pokémon Center.

"Well, yeah. Seems pretty straightforward."

"It'll be finding her that's the issue, then." They agreed to split up and cover more ground.

It took them some few minutes to find her, the sun having crawled the whole way into the sky in the meantime. "Excuse me," Ramson said to the girl, sitting by a booth enjoying a bowl of soup. "Are you Allison?"

Her eyes scanned his entire body. "I'm sorry. Have we met before?"

"Uh, no. I'm just here to tell you that you've gotta keep bidding in that auction you're in."

"Huh? Do you work for the auction?"

Ramson looked to the side. "Well, I work for the festival, anyway. It'll just take another 500 or so, so don't give up, okay?"

Allison looked at him slightly aksance, but nodded. "Alright. Thank you for the information." The world faded away into green, and Ramson found himself again in the Center, sitting down in a chair in the lobby.

"Excuse me," said a familiar voice. Ramson turned to Allison, walking up to him and holding a quite-old book.

"Yeah? Can I help you?"

She paused, glanced above his eyes. "Are you the same person as yesterday? The one who told me to bid higher in the auction?"

Ramson nodded. "I am. I guess you won the book, huh?"

She flinched, glanced down to the book in her hands. "How did you know that I was even in an auction? When I asked the auctioneer, he hadn't even heard of you."

"Does that mean you know who I am, then?"

"Not as such. I did mention your hair, though, and the only young adult with white hair was supposed to be in today's Contest. You are him, right? Ramson Skordo?"

"I am, indeed." She saw him this time? Didn't she say that she only heard about the Overheat last time? Ramson chalked it up to time travel changing things slightly.

She started nodding. "Alright, so that's one question answered." She looked around the other chairs. "Are you here with anyone?"

"Ah, yeah, where are they?" Ramson craned his head to the kitchen, where Roma and Merla stood, looking at Roma's Pokégear. "There they are," he said with a point. "Need to talk to 'em?"

"Er, no. I just wanted to make sure that you were the right person. I, uh, want to offer you my services." She hefted the book slightly. "My name is Allison Teller, and I'm training to be a Move Tutor."

"Yeah, so I hear," he said. "It's good to meet you, Allison." He held out a hand. "Oh, wait, you're holding a book, huh."

"That's alright. So, would you like to accept my services as a Move Tutor? I'm not very experienced, but I'd like to get to know you."

Ramson thought about it. "Well, I'm not sayin' no, but I gotta talk it over with those two."

She nodded. "Of course. I'll leave you my phone number. Just give me the word."

And with that, the remainder of the night passed for them without incident.

* * *

In the middle of the night, another person entered the Center and made her way to a certain room. She took out her Pokégear. "I've finished up here. I'll be able to move ahead later."  
...  
"I'm aware of the reason I'm here. They'll likely be moving soon, though. When they're out of town, I'll take care of things."  
...  
"Exactly. I've found other things to occupy myself while I wait."  
...  
"So far? I've gotten a lot done. I intend to continue on to Morchella. I doubt I'll have much trouble there."  
...  
"I will. I know how polarizing it can get." She looked out to the lobby proper. "Soon enough, they will, too. Until Morchella." She hung up, and looked out the window to the night sky. "A crescent moon? Is it waxing or waning?" She leaned back. "I'll have to look it up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allison Teller's name comes from the phrase "a lesson to learn".
> 
> Contests are pretty tough to write, actually. Even working with the game's concrete numbers, it can be tough to keep track of all the extra effects. I'm not sure I did the best at selling the idea of the Contests' spectacle, but I'm going to keep trying to get better.
> 
> Next time: Down into the Depths! The Volcano's Lava Pit!


	23. Must Be Some Kind

"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't," Merla said. "She seems nice enough, and Move Tutor services are always useful."

"Besdies, she's in the Celebook," Roma said. "Whoever Allison is, helping her is probably important somehow."

"So, we've each got a practical reason to do it, and a sentimental one." Ramson nodded. "At least we all agree that we'll help her."

The three stopped at the mouth of the cave descending into the volcano.

"Last chance to take the high road?" he asked.

"I'd like for Kasho to get some experience fighting in the volcano," Roma said. "Leaving him out of the tournament gave him space, but I still need him to get stronger."

"He'll be useful against the Gym Leader," Merla said. "Ice isn't great against Water."

"If you two say so," Ramson said. "Guess we can make that pit stop for a Ghost-type, too."

"How many Pokéballs did you buy?"

"I've got three," he said, taking them out. "I've never used one before, though."

"They're easy to get the hang of," Merla said. "It'll home in on a Pokémon when you throw it; just don't overthink it."

Ramson nodded. "At least we've got time to practice, right?"

"We should get there by two days from now," Roma said as they crossed the threshold. "I think that's when I got to Morchella last time."

"Sounds good to me. Maybe I could try catching some other Pokémon first?" He shook his head. "Guess we'll figure it out as we go."

* * *

"Is it just me, or is it getting hotter?" Ramson asked after some time descending.

"We _are_ walking into a volcano," Roma said. "It's not too surprising."

"I don't think volcanoes make heat this far out," Merla said. "If that were the case, wouldn't we be seeing lava at some point?"

"I think it's magma," Ramson said, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Is it? I've never really known the difference."

"Does it really matter?" Roma asked. "It's all hot rock to me."

Ramson rolled his eyes. "Well, sure, I guess. But there's gotta be a difference, right? They wouldn't have two words for the same thing."

"They've got two words for phone."

"Well, that's different. Phone's an abbreviation of telephone."

"I thought phone meant something?" Merla said.

"It might in another language, but I don't think it does in English."

"Right, I guess." She looked up at the cave ceiling. "English," she said, staring at a sky she couldn't see. "Thuria... Wish I could talk to Woodrow right now."

"Can you contact him?"

"Not very easily. He wasn't on VS Seeker last night, and I get the feeling we won't get good service once we get too far down."

"Right, I guess not. It must have been, what, one in the morning their time?"

"Just about. I've got no idea when he sleeps at all, of course."

"What does this Woodrow guy do? You said VS Seeker was a battling site, right? Does he, like, do battling?"

"No, I - well, I think he said he does sometimes, but not usually. He's training to be an artisan," she said, then shrugged. "Or, at least he was last time I asked him. I don't really know what he'll be doing when he gets here."

"He's comin' here? Why?"

"He told me he's going to be an apprentice to one of our Elite Four members."

"Oh? Which one?" The question came from Roma, contrary to what Merla had expected.

"Gneiss Bandner. The Rock-type one."

"Oh. I don't know him," he said dismissively.

"There any of 'em you do know, then?" Ramson asked.

"Yeah, Trevor Dunnock."

Merla tripped on her own foot. "What?! You know a member of the Elite Four?! Since when?!"

"Well, I don't really know him that well. It's not like I even met him."

Merla shook her head in confusion. "Wha - huh?"

Ramson tapped his fist into his palm. "Oh, he must have met him in the other timeline." Roma confirmed as much.

Merla wiped her brow. "Don't surprise me like that, Roma. If it happened in the other timeline, say so first."

"Hey, speakin' of - what exactly's changed from the other line? I mean - " Ramson gestured to himself. " - besides the obvious."

Roma nodded, then his chin sunk a bit. "Well, hang on. First off, I've got you two with me - that's different."

"I didn't travel with you, either?" Merla asked.

"No, we just moved at around the same pace," Roma said, raising an arm. "We met in Porcini and battled, then again in Ostreatus, and one last time in Golden Needle City." As he spoke, he drew his hand down, across, and up again in one motion.

"Oh." She nodded. "Why didn't we start moving together? I mean, I know we've got a pretty big reason to do it now, but..."

"Well, you said you didn't want to hold me back."

"That's kinda rude," Ramson said.

Roma looked at him. "I'm not the one that said it! Merla wanted to get her starter from the professor, and it would've been a two-day walk both ways!"

Merla quirked her lip and tilted her head in acceptance. "Thinking about it, I really wouldn't want to feel like I was holding Roma up like that. It makes sense."

"Well, why couldn't have you gotten something from your Gym Leader?" Ramson asked. "Don't they do something like that?"

"Sometimes, but it's usually as a graduation gift. Master to student, you know how it goes."

He shook his head. "Not really, but if you say so. So, you can't get it from anyone but this professor, fine. Why couldn't he come to you?"

"She already had her hands full." Roma took out his Pokégear and pulled up the Pokédex. "See this? Catching Pokémon fills this out for the professor. There were a few Pokémon that were already there besides the starters."

("Oh, a girl," Ramson said.) He checked the high-tech encyclopedia. "Alright, so she can't come to you, and it takes at least four days round-trip. I guess I can accept that."

Merla paused. "Wait, doesn't that mean there was another person who picked the Spinotsumi?"

Roma blinked. "Oh, wait. I never told you, did I? Spinotsumi was the last starter there after I got Snowcap."

Merla tripped again. "Wait, are you implying - ?"

"You were the one with Spinotsumi, Merla. Whoever was first took Curio."

The words from Roma's mouth smacked Merla across the face. "What? But, I don't - I can't - "

"You told me a week ago that Spinotsumi was good against more Gyms here."

Her head slammed forward. Luckily, it struck only empty air. "That's right! And after I would have helped you win against Truffle Town's Gym, of course Gyms would be on my mind!"

"World make sense again?" Ramson asked.

"Thankfully." She gripped her temple. "But just thinking that there's a timeline that's so different out there... It's a lot to take in."

"It does take some imagination," he agreed. "But, hey, at least you're still Pokémon Training over there. Right now in the other timeline, I'm still a career criminal."

"Oh, that's right! You were still working for Team Fortune, weren't you? Or at least, you got rehired at the end."

"Has to be something like that." Ramson took a look at Roma's distant face. "Yo, Roma, still with us?"

Roma blinked. "Huh - oh, sorry. I was thinking about Spinotsumi."

"What about it caught your attention?"

"I was just thinking about the way he smiled. I think he was happy helping Merla. He liked trying to show how strong he was."

"Sounds cute."

"Yeah, I can still remember the little sparks of electricity that would fly off its turbine when it revved - " He stopped in his tracks.

"What happened?" Ramson asked.

Roma paused for a moment. "Huh. I thought I felt - " He perked up. "There it is again!"

"What is it?" Merla asked.

"It kind of felt like..." He shook his head. "Like I rubbed my hair on a balloon or something."

Ramson turned his head slightly. His hair was floating a little...? "What the heck?" He grabbed the stray strands from the air and smoothed them out.

"Static electricity?" Merla asked. "This far down in a volcano? Does that happen?"

"I don't know," Roma said, "but I'm willing to find out." He took the lead, and the trio descended ever deeper.

* * *

It only took ten minutes at a faster pace for the source of the bizarre static to reveal itself. A great arc of electric energy shot across the open room they found themselves in, followed by a flash of red light. The rocks were a deep grey, contrasting nicely the red blobs of hot rock crawling toward a far corner with a single-minded purpose.

That being, to menace the nearly-teenage girl shooing them away from it. "Get back, you... you magmatic miscreants! This isn't for you!"

"Need some help?!" Roma asked, leaping through the threshold. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, thank heavens!" She gave her legs a start, but the Pokémon that were keeping here there threatened to pounce. "These Slugma are threatening to consume all of my metallic implements!"

"You didn't come in here with any way to beat Fire-types?!" Merla asked, Pokéball at the ready.

"I _did_ ," the girl said, "but we've already been at this for some half an hour, and the poor thing's exhausted all its Water-type attacks! Terrible, really."

"Why are you talking like an actor in an old radio play?" Ramson asked with his hand cupped.

"Is now really the time you want to discuss that?! I'm being _accosted_ , here!"

Roma sent out Kasho, and Merla Zapp. Ramson, after a shrug, produced Zubat.

"Roma, get a Water Sport up!" Merla called. "That should help us against the Fire-type attacks!"

Roma nodded. "You heard her, Kasho! Water Sport!" The Poliwag got up on the tip of its tail and _pulled_ the water from the ground, what little it could gain from the area. "Ice Ball might be a good follow-up!"

"Ice Ball?" asked the girl.

"Zapp, use Charge Beam, then switch to Hertz Bullet! I don't remember what Abilities these things can have, so hold off on direct attacks!"

"Charge Beam...?"

"That leaves me. Zubat, get in there and start using Wing Attack!"

"Oh!" Merla turned her attention to Zubat. "Switch to your Facade if you get burned! They can have Flame Body!"

The girl looked between her three rescuers. The people before her, could they possibly be...?

* * *

"Ow!"

"Hold still," Roma said, pressing the disinfectant-covered rag on her burns. "I don't want you getting tetanus."

"What are you doing here?" Merla asked. "This is a dangerous place."

"I'm quite aware of the danger this volcano poses, thank you. I was here to make sure I'd caught all of what I was looking for. I'd stuck to the safer places."

"So, what the hell brought five Slugma tryin' to eat all your stuff?" Ramson asked.

"Slugma take metal as their food," she said. "I happen to be carrying several electronic implements, which are wired with gold."

"Sounds wasteful," Ramson said.

"There isn't a better general metal for electronics." She stood. "Most others tarnish, or they are not as electrically conductive. With such being the case, I've taken the proper precautions and attempted to keep them out of sight."

"But they saw?"

"Not in the least!" She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Do you think I'm some kind of fool? I've been in here the past three days for several hours, and I've had no problems so far."

Roma looked over to the Slugma, regaining consciousness and scuttling away back down some corridor deeper into the volcano. "So what happened?"

The girl deflated a bit. "Well, you see, I'd discovered a Pokémon I hadn't seen yet down that cave." She gestured to the cave the Slugma crawled down. "A Slugma. Despite my better judgement, I followed it to the cave's endpoint, and found a Magcargo."

"Slugma's evolution?" Merla asked.

"Precisely, ma'am. I attempted to catch it from a higher ledge, therefore, but my first Pokéball failed to do the job. I suppose it was just as well - I _had_ jumped the gun and tried a sucker-punch Pokéball, and that would have fared poorly for me later."

"So, when it fell out of the Pokéball, it caught on to you?"

"And thus, the predicament I found myself in - well, adding a good ten minutes of Water-type attacks amounting to very little after the Burn, of course."

Roma zeroed in on her. "Show me the burned Pokémon," he said.

"I've got that Rawst Berry," Merla added, reaching into her bag.

The girl brought out and unfolded a strange contraption, shaped almost like a helmet's edges or a chandelier. On each of its eight higher points was a glowing orb, and dangling from each was a hollow point to fit a Pokéball's button into securely. There were eight such spots, and all were filled. She pulled a particular one from the tree and sent it out: a crayon-blue reptile on two legs with two stubby arms and a few fluffy, yellow feathers on its head. In other words -

"Spinotsumi?!" Roma said. Letting the rag drop from his hand, he laid his hand on the Pokémon's head. "It is you, isn't it? From the professor's lab?" Spinotsumi looked up at the stranger - oh, no, wait! Its face lit up in recognition. This was one of the humans that walked into the pen and took its roommates, wasn't he?

"If that's the professor's Spinotsumi," Ramson said to the girl, "then would that make you the third trainer?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," she said, "but we seem to all be acquainted with Professor Mycelli. May I see your respective starter Pokémon?"

"Oh, yeah!" Roma said, getting out Snowcap's Pokéball. "I'm sure Snowcap would love to see Spinotsumi again."

Merla got out Curio, as well. Spinotsumi pushed itself to its feet and greeted its old roommates. Snowcap smiled and nuzzled up to it, and Curio sniffed at it.

"I guess now's a good time to introduce ourselves," Merla said. "I'm - "

"Merla Traub," said the girl. "Your friend is Roma Pomadoro, and you..." She looked at Ramson. "I'm not sure who you are. You at least aren't working for Professor Mycelli, correct?"

"Nah, I'm just travelin' with these two," Ramson said. "Ramson Skordo. You might have heard about me in the Contest yesterday?"

She shook her head. "My apologies. I'm not accustomed to watching such things." She took out her wallet and, from it, her Trainer ID. "Here."

Ramson took the card. "'Stella Ka - Kalu -' How do you say that?"

"Kalumpoki," she said. "My family history traces back to the Lympos region."

"Greek, huh," Ramson said. "My grandpa's Greek, too." He looked at her. "Alright, then. So, how'd you meet this Prof, anyway?"

"I was given a position as an assistant," she said. "I'm to track and catalogue the Pokédex data of as wide a variety of Pokémon as I can."

"Oh, yeah? So're they." He pointed to the other two, currently watching their starter Pokémon play. "Small world, I guess."

"I suppose it is," she said. "Then again, it is work for the Professor we all agreed to perform. How many species of Pokémon have they recorded?"

"Think it's been five - oh, no, seven."

"Seven each? That's not a terrible start."

"Huh? No." He shook his head. "They've got seven all together."

Stella looked to him. "Really?! They've gotten so few? I know they're operating differently than I am, but that's... that's a very small number."

"Can you put it in perspective for me?"

"There are some fourty different species of Pokémon available on Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, and within the volcano, counting their evolutions. What have they been doing with their time?"

"Taking on the Gyms."

Stella's eyes narrowed. "Ah. I see. Well, that would explain it, then." She sighed. "I've never really enjoyed Gyms, honestly. Maybe it was because we didn't have one. I just don't see what the fuss is about."

Ramsons shrugged. "That's what I said about Contests. Then I tried one, and now I like 'em."

"Well, to each their own." She stood. "Well, I've already caught a Slugma, so I won't need to worry too much about it. It'll evolve soon enough."

"How's that?"

"Well, do you see this?" She took out the contraption again, this time still collapsed. "I was able to procure this from a reputable source."

Ramson nodded. "That's pretty cool. What is it, though? How's it help?"

Stella nodded. "It is an Experience Share device, produced by the Silph Company in Kanto."

Roma looked up and over. "Did you just say Kanto?"

"Yes, I did! Look here." She held out the Experience Share. "This was produced by the Silph Company in limited quantities! It is an Experience Share - specifically, the Experince All model, version 3!"

Roma looked at the machine. "Huh. Looks like it's tough to use."

"Not in the least! All it takes is to insert the Pokéball here - " She pointed to the empty end Spinotsumi's ball had come from. " - and the Pokémon will be able to recieve battling experience without actually battling!"

Roma nodded appreciatively. "And here I thought it was just a fancy holder."

"Those are difficult to get," Merla said. "How'd you manage to?"

"I obtained it upon being accepted for my position. I've got a benefactor, you see."

"Probably your mom or dad, right?" Ramson asked.

"I doubt it," Merla said. "These things are crazy rare. Silph doesn't do runs for them very often... and the ones they do make sometimes break over here."

"Break? Why would they?"

"It is a known question," Stella said, "with an unknown answer. 'For what reason do circuit boards manufactured elsewhere malfunction when used in Agricales?' No satisfactory solution has been found so far, despite - " She paused to close her eyes. " - forty seven papers being published on the subject, ranging from doctorate theses to high-school reports."

"Whoa! You can just rattle that number off like that?"

"I can Recall each one I've scanned over," she said. "That was one of the reasons I was recommended for this job, despite my age."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"I'm thirteen," she said. "I'll turn fourteen on the next full moon, to the day. I've been counting."

"Why?" Roma asked.

"Because it's fun!" Stella smiled. "I just love those kinds of coincidences, don't you?"

"Hold on a minute," Merla said. "How exactly can you recall all of those papers?"

Stella paused. "I suppose I should inform you, shouldn't I?" She took a breath. "I, Stella Kalumpoki, am psychic."

Their reaction seemed... a little bit lacking to her, all told. Ramson, as expected, was taken aback and shouted "What?!" Merla was far more subdued, merely straightening her back and raising her eyebrows. Roma, meanwhile, didn't have much of a reaction at all, deciding to rummage in his bag for a brush.

"Well, there you have it." She brought her arms out in a shrug. "If there's anything you wish to ask about it, I'm open for questioning."

"What kind of stuff can you do?" Ramson asked. "Most of what I know about psychics comes from, like, TV and stuff."

Stella's smile fell. "I'm afraid that my Recollection is about the limit of what I can do at this time. At least, consciously." She checked the time on her Pokégear. "Oh, we should keep moving. Route 5 is a long walk ahead."

"Let's keep talking while we go, then." He looked at the different ways they could go, and announced one seemed to be clearly marked.

* * *

"So, you said you can't do much more than remember info," Ramson said. "Is that all any psychic can do?"

"Oh, no! Of course not!" She closed her eyes again, then drew her left hand up. "'Psychic ability may be actualized in many different ways,'" she said, drawing her extended fingers across some invisible paper. "'Thus far, there are four accepted, generalistic categories of psychic potential, listed in order of rarity.  
The first, and most common, is the Kinetic Type. This represents the psychic's ability to generate and manipulate mechanical energy from things such as air pressure or levitation-based manipulation.  
The second is the Energetic Type. This is the psychic's ability to generate and manipulate non-kinetic forms of energy, such as heat and electricity.  
The third is the Information Type. This is the psychic's ability to gain and retain information.  
The forth, and rarest, is the Reactive Type. This is the psychic's ability to form and break chemical bonds. This ability is more dangerous than the other forms, by consequence of it being able to imitate all other forms of psychic ability, though without as much nuance.'"

"It's amazing that you can remember all that," Merla said.

"It's not memory," Stella objected. "It's Recollection. I'm going over the words in my head now, but I first saw them a long time ago, when I was about... three?"

"Man, that's still pretty incredible," Ramson said. "So, what, you just have to look at something once to be able to keep looking at it all you like?"

"That's a practical explanation of Recollection. Of course, psionics is such a wide field, I can't expect to give you accurate information for most other abilities."

"Yeah, no problem, this is still really fascinatin'! So, what kinda psychic are you - Info?"

"I'm of the Informational Type, yes. I've scored high enough to be considered highly proficient there." She looked off. "Of course, that's it so far. In everything else, I'm... I am woefully poor." She blushed in embarassment.

"Hey, nobody's perfect, right?"

"No, but most psychics show potential in multiple ways at once. That's never happened to me."

"Maybe you're just not that kinda psychic."

Stella lowered her head. "Maybe I'm just not, yes."

The four walked in silence for ten minutes, had light conversation for some hours, and finally came to a split in the cave. Etched into the dividing wall on one side was "<\-- St. Amanita", and on the other was "Morchella -->".

"Well, guess we've gotta split up here," Ramson said.

"Huh?" Merla said. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Stella's probably heading the other way, right?"

"I'm heading to St. Amanita," she replied. "I'd like to find some Ghost-types for study."

"Oh! Okay, yeah, never mind, then. We're headin' the same way."

"Besides," she said as they passed the split, "you all are my bodyguards right now. Spinotsumi hasn't recovered enough yet, and I'd rather not take the chance that those Slugma come back while I'm so vulnerable."

"Guess that does make sense."

* * *

They kept walking for some time, until the right-side wall of the cave corridor opened up to a large cavern. The air within carried a slight warble, and a red light shone from a pit going far beneath ground level. "Looks like it's hot over there," Merla said.

"Glad we don't have to go over that way," Ramson said.

"Actually," Stella said, "the airway over there is the fastest way to Route 5 from here." She pointed to a cave on the other side of the pit. "We'll be heading that way after we're done here."

"Oh, great - Wait, we?"

Stella looked to him. "You don't mind if I tag along, do you? We'll be heading the same way for the next few weeks, anyway."

"There is safety in numbers," Merla mused. "Roma, have you got any objections?"

Roma looked up from Snowcap, Curio, and Spinotsumi. "Huh? What's going on?" After Merla explained it to him (not without a frustrated sigh, mind you), he said, "No, she can come along with us. I'd love to meet her other Pokémon, once we sit down for the night."

"I can certainly manage that," she said. "I need to make sure they're all in good condition for tomorrow, anyway."

"When do we get there?" Ramson asked.

"We should reach St. Amanita by this evening. There's an outpost built around the volcano's exit, just a little farther up."

Indeed, the outpost took only another half-hour of walking to reach. However, the double-doors at its other end was currently under guard.

"You can't go out this way, kids," said the old security guard, sitting beside the door. "There's been an emergency. All of St. Amanita ain't allowed to leave their homes."

"Aw, really?" Stella whined. "Great. So we came all this way for nothing."

Merla looked out the window to the town in the distance, tinted orange by the evening sky. "What's wrong?"

"Near as anyone can figure, it's a Pokémon attack of some kind. They're workin' on finding the source of the problem, so bear with us, if you could. Sorry, but the local Contests have been canceled until it's all over with."

Ramson perked up. "You guys do Contests? Well, did, I guess."

The guard nodded. "They were the best Contests, young man. It's a real shame. We even have our special Ribbons prepared, but no way to give 'em out." He sighed. "It's a little too late to send you kids off, so the least I can do is put you up here for the night." He pointed to a room just over yonder with four beds you kids could use. "No spare food, though. You can make something?"

Ramson was in charge of cooking that night. Normally, Roma took over, but he wanted to meet Stella's other Pokémon, because he might have known some of her other Pokémon. And, after a fashion, he had. Though he hadn't met the Ponyta she produced, or the strange, bright-pink-furred cocoon, or the Pokémon currently balancing itself on its own brown, striped tail. Likewise, the heart-shaped fish, her other reptile, currently completely asleep, or her grey-furred rabbit didn't make Roma pause.

The male Nidoran, on the other hand, had him doing a double take. Not because he recognized him, no. But something about the little guy seemed familiar. It was resting just behind his eyes, Roma knew it. But what was it about him? Roma got down on his hands and knees and looked at the Nidoran closely.

The Nidoran backed away a bit from this stranger's stare.

"Hey, Merla," Roma said. "Does this Nidoran look familiar to you?"

She looked at him. "Not really. The Nidoran live off the beaten path on Route 2, though." She looked at Stella. "How did you find this one?"

She smiled. "It took some work, believe you me." She pushed up her glasses. "I'd canvassed the locals in Portobel and Truffle Towns both for information about the local Pokémon, and found out about the Nidoran nest from a woman in Portobel whose son had apparently met some several years ago."

"Short, dark hair?" Merla asked, gesturing. "Wore a lot of pink?"

"Um, yes. Do you know her?"

"That was my mom," Roma said. "She probably tried to feed you and warned you to stay away, right?"

Stella scratched her head. "She had, yes. I took it as her being protective."

"Ah!" Roma said. "I just figured it out! Look at his nose, and his horn! It's Hari and Needle's!"

Merla perked up at the mention of the two evolved Nidoran. Getting close, she did see a slightly shorter, flatter horn, and a longer nose. But, it didn't tell her very much. "Is it?"

"Do you... know the parents of my Nidoran, then?" Stella asked.

"How'd you find him?" Roma asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Ah, yes. Well, after I caught a few Pokémon on Route 1, I made my way to Route 2 and north-east from the inn bordering the two Routes. Soon enough, I came across the nest of Nidoran. There were around thirty, at varying states of evolution. I observed the group for a short while, and it seemed that there were two leaders, a Nidoking and Nidoqueen."

"Hari and Needle," Merla said. "Seems like they're doing fine, then."

"Yes, well, they're also very alert. I got accosted by them, too, when I got spotted."

"You run into danger a lot, huh?" Ramson said.

"These are exceptional circumstances!" Stella insisted. "At any rate, I tried to get away, failed, and managed to drop some food I'd had packed from yesterday."

"Let me guess - Roma's mom packed it for you?"

"Ah, yes. How did you know?"

"Hari liked my Mom's homemade bread," Roma supplied. "Did he find it?"

Stella nodded, a little surprised. "He.. he did, yes. They brought me before the two leaders - your Needle and Hari, I'm sure - and I explained that I was just looking for a Nidoran. Then, the Nidoking pointed to one of the little Nidoran - and it seems his own son - and sent him off with me."

Roma nodded. "Well, that explains how you got here," Roma said to the Nidoran. "Now, what to call you?"

"Are you talking about a nickname?" Stella asked. "Why? This is the only Nidoran I own."

"Well, it just makes sense," Roma said. "Everyone's got a name, right? And it's not like his parents don't have names, either. Why should he be any different?"

Stella held up her hands. "I... guess? Do whatever you want, but I probably won't be using the nickname you give him." She stood up. "I've got to make a phone call. I'll be back in a minute."

"Have fun," Ramson said.

Stella sat in the lobby, behind a closed door. She brought out her Pokégear and dialed a familiar number. "It's me," she said. "I ran into some trouble today, but things went alright."  
.........  
"A Magcargo. I failed to capture it, but I do have good news: I've made contact with them."  
.........  
"Yes, they know I'm psychic. We're heading up to Morchella now."  
.........  
"No, I don't think they realize. They're in for a rude awakening the day after tomorrow."  
.........  
"Maybe. They'll be handling Gym challenges along the way, so I expect slow progress."  
.........  
"There's another one, too. Contests. Do you think that will be a problem?"  
.........  
"That is true. We'll have to see, then. I'll contact you again once we reach Morchella."  
.........  
"I'm aware I said that last time, but would you have preferred not knowing?"  
.........  
"Exactly, and thank you." She hung up the phone, and headed back into the room.

"But he doesn't use fire," Ramson said. "Ain't he a Poison-type?"

"True, but it is pointy enough," Merla said. "Ah, Stella, welcome back."

"What do you think of Poker?" Roma asked. "I think it fits."

"It works," Stella said with a flip of her hand. "I'm going to get ready for bed. We've got a long day tomorrow, through a hot volcano."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's Stella! Her last name is Greek for corn, and she's named after the stellar variety of corn. I feel like it fits our group nicely, wouldn't you? I'll go over each of her Pokémon as we go on and they become relevant, don't worry.
> 
> As a side note, lately I've been trying to figure out how to draw my Pokémon. Does anyone have any resources they'd recommend?


	24. Tama, Go

"It's getting really hot," Ramson said. "Is this really the best way to get to Morchella?"

"It is," Stella said. "Unfortunately. Had I known what would transpire yesterday, I would have just taken the higher road and been done with it."

"If you had, we wouldn't have met up," Merla said. "There's a benefit to everything, I guess."

"I suppose."

"What's that glowing stuff down there?" Roma asked, pointing down into a deep pit as they passed.

"It's probably lava," Ramson said.

"It's magma," she said. "Lava is what it's called when it breaks the surface and erupts from a volcano. Magma, on the other hand, is still underground."

"Is that the only difference?" Merla asked.

"Well, there are different varieties of lava and magma. In Alola alone, there are some -"

"Do you think the Magcargo's down there?" Roma said.

Stella huffed, but replied, "I doubt it. Slugma tend to live around the middle of the volcano, despite being made of magma themselves. The intense heat of a volcano can't support complex life at all. Of course, they can venture down there occasionally for things like trapping prey and whatnot, but that's usually not that big a deal."

"Prey?" Ramson asked. "Those things eat? With what mouth?"

"They've got a mouth beneath their eye stalks," she said, tapping her own mouth. "A Slugma's regular diet consists of Steel-types, especially their babies and eggs."

"They're egg-eaters? Gruesome."

"Slugma can't usually catch other Pokémon fast enough to eat them. They've got to be opprotunists to survive."

"I guess. It's still kinda ruthless, though."

"Yes, I agree." Stella shook her head. "Those poor Skarlet. They don't even get a chance to fly."

"Scarlet? What, like the color?"

"No, no. They're 'Skarlet', with a K. They're the freshly-hatched form of Skarmory."

"They only discovered them a few years ago," Merla said. "As it turns out, it takes them getting a diet high in a particular metal to produce eggs that hatch into Skarlet."

"Columbium," Stella supplied. "It's a metal famous for its ability to change color."

"Can it be red?" Ramson asked.

"No, it can't. Yellow, blue, green, purple - those are the colors it's turned into most on commemorative coins and things like that."

"Well, at least the color-changing thing explains the name."

"Actually, the name was established long before the discovery of columbium's use in Skarmory's reproductive cycle." She closed her eyes and began to Recall. "In a journal written by an abbot living abroad from the Joyous Abbey in Thuria, he writes, 'I have frequently observed that the Skarmory living atop [the Joyous Abbey's] mountain will become more aggressive than normal on a certain cycle. I have suspicions that this is related to its laying of eggs, as has been observed before, however it seems a greater burden is placed on them than at other abbeys.'

"Obviously, we have to conclude," she said, opening her eyes, "that the Skarmory had produced a more vulnerable group of chicks at Joyous Abbey, which the abbot dubbed Skarlet. The last piece of the puzzle appears 300 years later, when a vein of wolfram was discovered beneath the ruined abbey's soil."

"I don't follow," Merla said.

"I think she's suggestin' that this wolfram and our columbium are closely related. Am I on the right track, Stella?" Ramson asked.

"Exactly," she replied. "In fact, for a while, two names considered for the substances were those of ancient mythological gods - a father and daughter. They were difficult to separate, and occur concurrently, you see." She crossed her fingers. "Columbium occurs naturally in multiple places around the planet, and we've managed to craft an incense that duplicates its effects."

"Is here one of 'em?"

"It is. All of Mt. Pyroclasm has significant mineral and metal deposits - of course, no one can get to them, they're surrounded by magma on all sides, and some powerful Pokémon resides very deep down." They passed another pit, its red glow refracting onto their faces. "And it doesn't like visitors very much. Only one person's ever seen it and lived."

Ramson leaned toward the light, and the heat it gave off left him feeling microwaved. "Probably get cooked alive before you got all the way down, anyway."

"Undoubtedly. Did you know that magma can frequently reach a tempuratures over 2000 degrees?"

"Whoof! Forget cooking alive, you'd get turned into ash before you could blink!"

"It's certainly dangerous." And so they continued...

* * *

"Does it feel quiet to anyone else?" Roma hadn't spoken much over the past few hours of conversation, Ramson asking questions and Stella answering them, with Merla chiming in now and again.

"Uh, no, not really," Ramson said. "Why, you need quiet for something?"

He looked around. "No, it's definitely quiet around here."

"What's the problem?" Merla asked.

"What kind of Pokémon live in these pits?" he said with a point. "Fire-types, right?"

"Almost solely," Stella said, "with the exception of the rare Geodude and Zubat. Otherwise, the middle section of the volcano is populated by many Fire-types."

"So where are they? I haven't heard any Pokémon sounds for a while."

"Such as?" Ramson asked.

"The Slugma live deeper down than this, right?"

"Yes," Stella said. "What about it?"

"Then shouldn't we hear Slugma cries echoing up?"

The group paused to listen. "I don't hear anything like the noises from yesterday, no," Merla said.

"That is... rather strange," Stella said. "Still, the Slugma might just be up for feeding. The other Pokémon might be hiding from them."

Roma nodded, then hesitated. "Wait a minute - feeding?" He leaned into Stella. "Can you show me a picture of the Magcargo?"

"Um, alright." She pulled up her Pokédex. "Number 047, Magcargo." She showed him the picture.

Roma studied the Magcargo's entire body. A crack in its shell? _No._ Did its eye look damaged? _No._ What about it's mouth? What did it look like? _A drip on the left, and a curling blob on its right like a cleft lip._ "This Magcargo." His head shot up - he tried to plan a route out from there - what was the best way to?

"What about this Magcargo?" Stella asked. "Have you seen it before?"

"What's the quickest way to Route 5 from here?"

"We're still a couple of hours away," she said. "Now, could you answer my - "

"Then what's the fastest way out of the volcano?"

"Excuse me?! We're a hundred or so feet underground, deep in a cave - there's no point in trying another way up, anyway! There's no roads that lead around the volcano on this side!"

Roma, disregarding what she had to say, got out a Pokéball and sent out Enoki. "Can you dig through this rock, Enoki?" She gave it an experimental tap, and shook her head. "Then, we'll just have to find some other way."

"Roma, what are you doing? Don't just leave us hanging!" Merla pleaded as he scanned his eyes across the caves that surrounded them.

Pushing past her, he dashed down one way and disappeared into the darkness. "Roma!"

Ramson gripped her outstretched arm. "We can't go chasing after him! He's just going to get us all lost."

"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Lacking a proper outlet, she threw her anger to Ramson. "We can't just leave him!"

"We've got to make it to the surface to get signal for our GPS. Maybe we can find his location from that."

"The Pokédex has a location function," Stella said. "We'll have to use that." The three ran through the cave marked as leading to Route 5.

They made fine time - taking an hour to run a two-hour path. The sun shone high in the sky - it was about noon, or a little after.

According to Stella's Pokégear, it was 12:13 PM, to be exact. "I'm not familiar with computer hacking," she said, "but I'll try to figure out how this works."

"I took a computer class in high school," Ramson said. "Maybe I can help."

After some fumbling around, the two eventually found a method to display current location of other Pokédexes, and it requested an ID. "Mine's PDX01273," Stella said.

"I've got '1272," Merla said.

"So, Roma would have '71, then," Ramson said. They punched it in, and thankfully, he was visible. Though, not in an expected place - his location seemed to be in a forest on the cliffs around ten minutes east of them - in oher words, he'd passed through the volcano faster than them. "No time to question that, I guess. We've gotta get over there!"

* * *

Roma scanned the clifftops he found himself on. "We've got to get there, Enoki. I just don't know where they are." Enoki, on his shoulder, tilted her head in confusion. "Maybe up there? Do they use trees?" He took a breath. "I can't afford to panic right now. I've just got to think, right?" He looked at the tree's branches - none of them looked broken. He smelled the air - no burned grass, for pretty far out. "They might not nest in trees, then." He turned back toward the volcano - and at the indent in its wall that might have housed what he was looking for, about thirty feet up. Deciding it was the first place to look, Roma clambered up the side of the volcano, having Enoki make small Stealth Rock platforms to catch his grip.

By the time he reached the lip of the indent, Merla, Ramson, and Stella made it to him. "What the hell are you doing up there?!" Ramson shouted. "No, better question: why did you run off like that?!"

"I'm trying to stop that Magcargo!" he shouted back. "If you want to help me, be my guest!"

"We can't possibly get up there," Merla said. "I can't climb thirty feet, can you?"

"I think I can do it," Stella said.

"You can?" Ramson asked. "You don't really look like a rock climber."

"I'm not," she said, getting out the Exp. Share. "But Sleepy can use Stealth Rock, too." She removed one of the balls and sent out her sleepy reptile from last night, with bright, pink feathers lining its body and stone-covered claws with purple tips. Its long, fluffy, gray-fading tail would have trailed behind its body, if it hadn't been using it as a pillow. On Stella's command, it uncurled its body and pulled from the ground one great stone, big enough for the four to ride on like an elevator. It then went right back to sleep.

"What a big Stealth Rock," Merla said. "What kind of Pokémon is it?"

"Sleepy's a Sinorin," she said. "They're Rock-types, so their Stealth Rocks are more useful than others'."

"Why'd you name it Sleepy?" Ramson asked.

Stella blushed. "I was seven when I got him! I'm a lot more sensible now!" Ramson stifled a laugh.

It took them two minutes to reach the indent. In that time, Roma had found what he was looking for: a nest made of shiny metal wires of all kinds of colors: grey, yellow, blue, and green, mostly. "Columbium?" Stella said. "But that means...!"

"This is - what'd you call 'em - a Skarlet nest?" Ramson assumed. "So where's the birds?"

"It can't be made of all columbium, can it?" Merla asked, and got closer, bending down to the nest. "No, there's iron here, too. Not rusted - oh!" Within the nest were four shiny eggs, glinting with undertones of green, blue, yellow, and brown. "They're still here?"

"Skarlet eggs," Stella said. "Skarmory build their nests alone after mating. They're fiercely independent creatures."

"Does that mean these little guys are on their own?" Ramson asked.

"Their mother should be here for now, actually. She might be getting food - "

A piercing screech, what felt like metal-against-metal's imitation of a bird call, turned the four to the entrance, ears clutched. Standing there, a harsh glower on her face, was the egg's presumed mother, a five-foot tall bird with shining, silvery feathers. A chunk of dirt holding some sprouts sat at her feet, having been dropped there. Malice radiated from her eyes, blotting out the light from the sun shining behind her. They wouldn't be getting out of there alive, not if she had anything to say about it.

"Skarmory are mostly ore-eaters," Stella said in a nervous whisper, "but they also need to eat some meat. Usually, certain prey species serve that purpose - "

The Skarmory stratched at the cave floor, leaving a chunk of the ground missing.

" - but humans can, too," she whimpered.

Roma took a step toward her. "I should have figured it out sooner," he said. "It was a few weeks from then, huh?"

The Skarmory lowered her head as her beak began to glow a dull white. "Roma, it's going to use Fury Attack," Merla warned, trying not to let her panic show in her voice. "Back off."

"She's done worse," he said back.

The shoe dropped for Ramson. "The future?"

"What? What do you - Oh, no way," Merla said. "That's too crazy a coincidence."

"What are you two talking about?"

Ramson looked at the Skarmory baring down on them, watching Roma warily as he slowly stepped forward, hands up and open. "Maybe a little later, Stella."

Roma moved within a few feet of her and moved his hand close to her. He stared into her eyes, and saw those exact same eyes he'd seen before. "It's going to be OK, Tamaha," he said. "We're going to keep them safe this time, together."

Her concentration broken, she leaned away from the stranger's touch, took a step back.

"I'm not going to hurt you. We're not here to hurt your eggs."

"Can that thing even understand him?" Ramson asked.

"Most Pokémon understand a little bit of human language," Stella said.

"There's a Magcargo deep in the volcano," Roma said to the mother. "It's going to try to get to your nest, and you won't be able to stop it." Her eyes flared up. "It's alright! We'll be able to help you, I promise."

The Skarmory looked to the four humans standing, well, cowering in front of her, most of them. She took another look at the one standing in front of her. Not very strong physically, but most humans could handle themselves fairly well on their own. Independent creatures. She gave a huff and relaxed her posture.

Ramson looked between her and Roma. "So, we're good? It's not going to kill us and feed us to her kids?"

"We're fine now," Roma said. "We've just got to wait until the Magcargo attacks, and stop it."

* * *

The sun fell in sky, and the volcano's shadow grew long. Soon, the moon came into view, and with it Stella's declaration: "Ah, it's a waxing moon!"

"Huh? Oh, right," Ramson said, "your birthday. So, what day would that be, exactly?"

"On the full moon," she said. "I told you."

"You're gonna make me look up the day the full moon happens?" He shook his head and took out his phone. "Well, we're getting better service since we're so high up, at least. What's up on Mystery Gift?"

"Already checked it," Merla said. "There's two different caches on Route 5. We can check them on the way."

"Right. Maybe we'll get lucky and get a couple more old TMs."

"So, you've got a TM Reader?" Stella asked. "Can I see it?"

"Oh, yeah." He got it out. "Sure, here."

Stella turned it over and looked at the place of manufacture. "Agricalean-made - you can't get better anywhere."

"Lotta regional pride there."

"Of course," she replied, handing it back to him. "It's said that if a circuit board works in Agricales, it works anywhere."

"No foolin'? Where do they even make those things?"

"Ostreatus City," Merla said. "They're the second-biggest city, and mine the materials from the local mountains."

"The metal is top-rate," Stella said, pushing forward a bit, a determined look in her eye. "Even despite being a port town, they're known for being electronics manufacturers above all else."

"Right!" Merla smiled. "Even their Gym has a lot of electronic stuff in it, from what Mr. Nero's told me. They make really good waterproof equipment, too."

"In addition to providing the processed materials for a wide variety of medical instruments used in high-end medical facilities." She set her eyebrows into a deep glare, perhaps trying to paralyze Merla into stopping.

"Between that and the local Pokégear manufacturers, they're considered the best boards for any job - well, except for certain specialty items."

"Such as the Super Silph Drive, developed in-house at Silph Company Headquarters in Saffron City, Japan!" She pointed at Merla.

"Really? I didn't know that. You learn something new every day, I guess."

Stella pumped her fist in triumph. "I'm glad I could tell you something you didn't know."

Ramson quirked an eyebrow. "You know, she wasn't trying to compete with you, Stella," he muttered. "Hey, Roma, how's dinner?"

"Going fine," he said. "Should be ready soon."

"Alright, then." He turned back to the girls. "So, what's our attack plan?"

Merla nodded. "We'll be needing as much of an advantage as we can get, since Magcargo take a lot of experience to evolve; that means we'll be facing a strong opponent by default. Slugma are Fire-type, and Magcargo add Rock on top of that."

"Sounds like water'll be the order of the day."

"Fighting-types wouldn't hurt, either, or Rock."

"Sleepy and I can get Stealth Rocks up," Stella offered, "but they might not stay up so easily after a while."

"Don't start until we can see them, then. Spinotsumi, Kasho, and Enoki will lead the charge, with whatever water and mud they can make. Water Sport is especially necessary. Poker can support with Double Kick, and Sleepy should use whatever Rock-type moves it has."

"I'll take care of that, then."

"With just one Pokémon, I don't think I'll be much help," Ramson said. "Wish we could've stopped at St. Amanita after all."

"If we had, we might not have been able to help here," Roma said. "Thank goodness we didn't."

"Yeah, but still."

"What are you looking for?" Stella asked.

"You'd give me a Pokémon?"

"No, I'd trade you a Pokémon. If you can catch a Pokémon I don't have full data for in my Pokédex, I'll trade you any one I have that you want." She passed him her Pokégear. "Go ahead and look." He took the Pokégear and started scrolling through it.

"Meanwhile, our other Pokémon should divide up any Slugma that show up."

"What about the ones weak to fire and rock?" Ramson asked, looking up. "Won't they be in trouble?"

"True. Snowcap and the mother Skarmory should stay back, and physical attackers will have to get switched out as we go. If they get burned, it'll be an issue."

"I probably won't be able to give orders to eight Pokémon, you know," Stella said. "Will that be a problem?"

"We'll have four sets of eyes," Merla said. "Pay attention to the whole battle and direct as a group with your other Pokémon."

"Got it."

* * *

A great crash of noise woke them up in the middle of the night, almost like the sound of thunder. "What the - what was that?!"

"The Magcargo!" Roma shouted. "It must have gotten in here!" He got out of the tent and saw the Magcargo emerging from a new hole in the back of the indent, glowing red-hot with molten rock. Several Slugma trailed behind it.

"Did it eat a hole in the wall?!" Ramson said.

"Magcargo run hot," Stella said, emerging from her own tent. "Its Lava Plume could have melted the wall if it were thin enough."

"Get ready, then!" Merla called, and got out Zapp's Pokéball. "Let's go!"

Everything started out just as planned: Kasho's Water Sport got more out of the ground than it did in the volcano, and Spinotsumi could blast bubbles like nothing else. The Slugma, having pushed forward ahead of their leader, hissed and scattered, thinning their numbers out and making it easier for Enoki to slap them with mud, which they didn't like, either, come to think of it.

"Sleepy, use Rock Throw!" He cracked open one eye and lazily tossed a stone he formed in his claw, without letting go of his tail. It beaned one of the Slugmas right in the head. "Right! Sentret, get Luvdisc around and support Beaumayu!" The brown-striped Scout picked up the heart-shaped fish and scuttled over to the pink-furred cocoon, and that fish sprayed a couple of Water Guns out of its mouth on its cue: a light tail-slap by the Sentret.

"We're pushing them back!" Ramson shouted. "Zubat, attack them with Facade, and don't let up!"

"We should have taught them all Facade," Merla said. "Dammit!"

"We know for next time!"

"There won't be a next time!" Roma shouted. "Snowcap, use Razor Leaf and push forward!" Snowcap nodded, then struck a Slugma getting too close to her.

"Roma, you're over-extending!" Merla called. "Bring her back!"

"These things aren't getting to the nest! On your right!" Snowcap dodged a blast of Embers aimed at her, then hit the offending Slugma.

"When will they give up?!" Ramson said. "How many are there?"

"Looks like at least seven," Stella said. "Not counting the Magcargo, of course - move to the wall, turret team!" She threw her arm to the left for the Sentret's benefit. "Frontline fighters, block the Slugma!" Her Veilapine and Ponyta - without Flash Fire, unfortunately - moved to fill the gap before one could squeeze past. "We might just do this!"

Then, the sound of cracking barely echoed throughout the room - but not the delicate sound of broken eggshell. Instead, it sounded more echoing, like stone crumbling. The Magcargo's shell began to show hairline cracks.

"What's it doing?" Ramson asked. "It's shell looks like its breaking off."

"Huh? The Magcargo?" Merla said. She stole a glance at it between orders, and her face blanched. "It's using Shell Smash!"

"No!" Stella said, dread in her voice. "If it gets that off, we'll never catch it!"

"It'll get faster?!"

"And stronger!" Merla said. "The only thing is it won't be able to take a physical hit as easy, but if we can't hit it - !"

"Zubat!" Ramson called. "Quit with the small fry and go for the leader!" Zubat nodded and dove down to attack it, dodging a few gooey Embers flying into the air.

"Zapp, support Zubat!" Dodging the artillery fire, too, Zapp twirled his way in and launched a few Hertz Bullets - a direct hit, right in its eye!

The shell shattered in an instant, throwing shards to the ground and leaving the new cluster of rock red-hot. Then, those same shards began to float and took on a purple glow. That energy morphed into something, too - small fossil shapes.

"It's using Ancient Power, too?!"

"How bad is that?"

"It's going to get a chance to improve itself in every way - stronger, more defensive, faster - "

"So, bad. How likely is it?"

"It's got to get hit by the shards from its own stones to get the boost," Stella said. "With five shots of Ancient Power, chances average to 41%."

"So, really bad for us."

"They've got to hit a Pokémon, though," Merla said. "Avoid the Ancient Power at every cost! We can't afford to give it a boost!"

And then it fired the bevy of fossil-shaped rocks.

The Slugma it hit went down in an instant.

"It's targeting its own allies?!" Merla said.

"It's taking out its competition, too," Roma said. "They all want Tamaha's eggs, remember?"

"That's true!" It took out another one. "We're getting backed into a corner. If it uses Ancient Power too much more, we won't be able to win."

"So, what do we do?!" Ramson said. "We can't just throw ourselves at it - yo, Stella's turret! On your left! - We're getting swamped as it is!"

"What can we do, then?! There might not be any way to get out of this without losing the eggs!"

"That's not happening!" Roma shouted. "Enoki, can you use Dig here?!" Enoki shook her head. "Urgh! Kasho, try and soften the ground with Ice Ball! Tear the ground up!"

"I haven't got any idea what to do now," Merla said. "We might have to retreat."

Another Slugma took a fossil to the head. "At least he's thinning out the other Slugma for us," Ramson said.

"But at what cost?"

"There has to be a way," Roma said. "Think! We've got two shots left!" Down went another. "Okay, one."

"We're closing in on him, but we can't get close enough. He could just as easily hit us with that Ancient Power."

Ramson sighed in frustration. "If we can't beat it, can't we get rid of it somehow? Keep it off until the birds hatch?"

"Not likely. We don't even know how long that'll take!"

"A few days," Roma said. "The eggs are almost ready, but we can't last that long, even if we get it away."

"I know!" Merla snapped. "It's not like we have Whirlwind or Roar or any way to capture it - "

"Capture!" Stella said. "We can catch it in a Pokéball, like I tried to yesterday!"

The final volley of fossils struck the third-to-last Slugma, and it collapsed. Then, the Magcargo wiggled as a purple shard pierced its body.

Ramson fumbled for the Pokéballs in his bag and threw one haphazardly. It whizzed through the air, its path curling around in the air to hit Magcargo's hot shell. Ramson took a shallow breath as it went in. "Would that be it?"

"If it breaks, give it a second before you throw the next one," Stella said, readying a ball of her own. Ramson's ball shook once. "This might be our best bet to make it out of this alive."

The ball shook twice. Then, its hinge snapped backward and broke the ball in two. The Magcargo that emerged immidiately scooted forward to attack, slamming into Kasho's frail body and leaping to bare down on the mother Skarmory.

Ramson's second ball sailed true and struck it dead between the eyes. It fell to the ground and shook once.

Shook twice.

Shook a third time - !

And clicked.

The two conscious Slugma, seeing their leader/assaulter had been captured, panicked. Packing their fellows into a cooling ball of magma and rock, they rolled and slithered down into the volcano again.

The group all collapsed now that the battle was over. "I-I'm gonna... go back to bed," Stella said. "That was... completely exhausting."

Of course, then, several Pokémon of hers began to glow the telltale glow of evolution. Poker, her Nidoran, became a Nidorino, his spines growing sharper and mouth becoming far more predator-like. He also grew several inches in size all around, leaving him quite large at the end of it. 

The cocoon Beaumayu hid within soon let loose its payload, a butterfly with pink, fur-lined wings and black accents on its pink torso. Its wings were smaller than most butterflies, unable to keep it aloft. It was called Amaichou, and this one seemed quite pleased with its evolution.

Most striking, though, was the transformation of Spinotsumi into Mizusaur. The large spine running down his back grew only slightly, but became tapered to an end at its base. At its middle, too, was a twisting object of some kind, a spinning cylinder connecting his neck to his tail, in addition to his spine. As well, the feathers on its head became more numerous and ornate, electric blue fading to lightning yellow at their tips without any green creeping in.

Stella watched the three of them evolve, stone-faced. "OK, then. I'm going to deal with this in the morning."

"Same here," Ramson said, picking up his newly-filled Pokéball. "I'm dead tired."

"Then, let's break for tonight," Merla said. "We'll talk over breakfast tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >says I don't know how to write big battles in my Smash/Fire Emblem fic  
> >writes a big battle into my Pokémon fic
> 
> Oops. Well, now I know how to do this, I guess.
> 
> So, that's another one down! We'll be getting to Morchella next chapter, and after that, the next Gym Battles! I'm excited, how about you?


	25. Drawing Away

"Two more days?" Stella asked. "We've really got to wait that long for the eggs to hatch?"

"It'll go by fast," Merla said. "We've got to train in the volcano, anyway. Morchella's going to be a difficult fight."

"Speaking of," Roma said, "ready to head in?" Merla nodded, and they stepped through the hole in the wall the Slugma left last night.

Stella sighed. "Well, I'm going to look around in the forest right over there for any Pokémon." She looked out the cave's original entrance and to the small bunch of trees below. "Would you like to come with me, Ramson?"

"Nah." He laid back onto the ground. "I'm still recovering from yesterday, honestly. That was the most Pokémon I've ever been around."

"Really - oh, right. You're from Allia." She dug her knuckle into her chin. "How many species of Pokémon are there naturally in Allia? I know there's some invasive species, but..."

"Not many." He shrugged. "We're two regions over from the Orre desert, after all."

"True. Even if Orre has some wild Pokémon, there's not many of them. And Allia, too..." She shrugged. "Well, I'll probably be picking up a few today, anyway. And if you want to trade me that Magcargo, my offer's still open!"

He waved at her. "Right, right. Be careful, and don't get into trouble this time."

"I won't!" She sent out Sleepy and Stealth Rocked her way down.

Ramson stared at the ceiling of the cave, hands behind his head. Welp, he supposed, nothing to do at the moment. He took out his phone and started reading about one thing or another. Some kind of passage about a better way to sort sets, or something? It went over his head, like some of this math usually did, but he got the gist of it. Tapping on something else, he was interrupted from this new article by a text.

"Night shift's over with. I'm so tired, I'm ready to collapse. ~_~" Ramson tapped the message, and it seemed to be from Kaoru?

"Why were you on the night shift?" he asked.

"Huh? Wait, did I not tell you? `~' I could have sworn I did."

"Uh, why would you tell me that? We haven't talked in a few days."

"What? Who is this?"

Ramson sent his name. "I take it you weren't trying to talk to me?"

"|:( No. I'm sorry, I was trying to message someone I work with. My phone's about ready to break."

"Alright. Well, I won't tie you up."

"No, wait! '~'/ I can still talk to you for a little while."

"Are you sure? I thought you were tired."

"I am, but I can still push buttons for a little while. So, where are you? Morchella?"

"No, we're still at the volcano."

"Really? What's the hold up?"

Ramson rolled his eyes. "It's a long story."

"I've got time. :)"

Ramson paused. "Alright, well, first off, when we got into the volcano, I dropped the TM Reader on the ground."...

* * *

The afternoon sun shot Ramson in the eye, forcing him to sit up with a cry. He blinked and looked down at the conversation he'd been having.

"And then, Smearie finally got the chance to learn Flare Blitz. /*-_^ And it only cost me three Big Nuggets! -_- Ugh, that was one of the worst days of my Contest career."

Ramson checked the time - "Whoa! It's already 3:30?!"

"What? '_' You're right! Wow, how didn't I notice that we'd been talking for so long?"

"Guess we should cut off for right now, huh?"

"Yes, that seems like a good idea. I need to sleep. Talk to you later. :)"

"Same here. Sleep well." Ramson put away his phone... then took it back out again to look over the conversation he'd just had. They'd really gone on for a while - wait, he spent half an hour talking about puzzles alone?! She'd barely even been commenting, too. Ramson blushed. How embarrassing! He really lost track of time, didn't he? He put his phone away and lied there, staring at the palms of his hands.

After a few minutes, Roma and Merla made it back up out of the cave. Ramson greeted them without leaning up.

"Hey, Ramson. You doing alright?" Merla said.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just embarrassed myself with a girl, that's all."

"Huh?" Roma looked around in the small cave. "Did a hiker come by, or something?"

"No, I was texting Kaoru." At his blank expression, Ramson continued, "From the Pokémon Contest! You know, about five-two, long black hair, curlycue blue dress?"

"Oh, her. Well, it's not like it matters right now, anyway. She probably won't even remember what you said."

"Look on the bright side," Merla said. "You've got plenty of time to make up for it!"

"I guess that counts as the bright side." Ramson said.

"What do you want for dinner?" Roma asked. "I think we can probably use some of those bullion cubes I bought."

"Yeah, I'll get the celery." He pulled himself to his feet and rummaged in his bag. "While I'm thinking about it, who had the batteries? My phone's running low."

"I think we gave them to Stella," Merla said. "Use a lot of battery texting?"

"Yeah." His phone was at a measly 12% - kind of a problem. "Maybe we should spread out the batteries a bit more in the future."

* * *

The sight of Stella rising up to the cave mouth interrupted the three's bedtime routines. "Hello, everyone! I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Well, my phone's dead," Ramson muttered. "Where the hell were you? It's - what time is it?"

"Half past nine," Roma said.

"That's a really late time to be getting back! What kept you?"

Stella tilted her neck so her chin touched her shoulder. "I was searching for Pokémon," she said. "I came back because I got hungry."

"Food's cold by this point," Ramson said with a gesture. "Help yourself, I guess. Hey, can you pass one of the batteries?"

Her head buried deeper into her shoulder. "I, uh, I used them all."

Merla stared. "Those were four batteries. How did you use all of them?"

"The Pokédex takes a lot of power!" She showed her Pokégear, at 34%. "It uses GPS and gathers information from online archives constantly!"

Merla frowned. "Well, great. We don't have any way to charge anything, and we're still here for another day. What do we do?"

"No problem," Roma said. "We just need some Electric-type moves to charge them up."

Stella blinked. "That seems... rather dangerous. We'd need a specific transformer to work with non-standard voltages, or else - "

"No, just let me show you. Merla, could you take out - oh, wait, you've got Mizusaur now, that's right. Would you mind?"

"Um, alright." Stella dislodged Mizusaur's Pokéball. "What do you mean by now, though?"

"Well, you know, after the time travel and all."

Stella's face crumpled in confusion. Merla's eyes bugged out. Ramson's jaw dropped.

Roma looked between the three of them. "Did we not tell her yet?"

What followed was a quick-and-dirty explanation of the Celebook, and the events which surrounded it.

Stella nodded throughout the explanation. "So, you're just making fun of me, right?"

"Huh? No, we're serious."

"Come on." Her head dropped. "You don't have to just make things up for me."

"We're not making it up for you," Merla said. "It's all true."

"Let's drop it for now," Ramson said. "Maybe you'll believe us eventually, but whatever. Let's just get back on topic." He looked to Roma. "You were going to show us how to charge a battery with an electric Pokémon?"

"Right." He got down to Mizusaur's level and stared at his face. "Just evolved yesterday, so your energy stores should be pretty full." He held out a hand above the dinosaur's spines. "May I?"

Mizusaur nodded.

"Alright." With a steady hand, he spun Mizusaur's spines around like a turbine. Static electricity ran down his arm. "At about this speed, can you use Thunder Shock?"

He nodded.

"Ready when you are."

"What?" Stella asked. "Are you asking me to have Mizusaur... attack you?"

"I'd like to see how much energy he's got. This is the best way - "

"Roma, this is kinda weird," Merla said.

"I did it before. I'm used to electric shocks - oh, wait, crap." His hand left the turbine. "Right, haven't built up that resistance yet."

"No, you haven't, whatever resistance you're talking about."

Roma smacked his lips. "Oh, well. No better time than the present." He gripped the spines again. "Go on! Thunder Shock!"

"Hey, wait - !" Stella's protest was drowned out by the sound of electricity arcing from the spines into Roma's arm.

Roma shook his arm and kneaded his hand. "Alright, that's a little bit fast for what we need," he said. "See if you can output that a little more slowly."

Stella looked at him as if he were possessed. "Ah - I - What the - " She settled for a confused noise.

"He's never done that in front of me, either," Merla said. "I don't know what just got into him."

"Roma, do you have a death wish, or something?" Ramson asked.

Roma held up a finger. "What is that?"

Ramson's head fell into his palm.

* * *

"I've got full feeling back," Roma said the morning after next.

"Not a moment too soon," Ramson said. "Are the eggs ready yet?"

"Just another hour or so. Then, we can head to Morchella."

"Finally," Stella said. "Even with Mizusaur, Merla's Zapp, and her Flarebuck, we're barely getting enough power in the batteries to get by. I wasn't even able to catch anything new yesterday. Annoying."

"Well, we'll get to the city by this evening," Merla said. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find something."

"If I don't have it in my Pokédex, I want to catch it."

"If it's good against Ice-types, I want it," she countered.

"I'll make breakfast, then," Roma said. "Any objections to scrambled eggs?"

Ramson snuck a glance at the Skarmory, still sitting there. "Uh, I'm cool with it if you are."

She huffed at him.

"Uh, yeah. What she said."

Soon, the eggs showed their first hairline cracks. She stood from the nest and watched the miracle of life take place. Soon, three small, glittery-shelled birds emerged from the three eggs. The three Skarlet's inner wings were a pale red, with a slight blue glint reflecting from their feather.

As well as from a fourth, smaller Skarlet's feathers. It crawled from the leftmost egg after its other occupant left, far smaller than its twin.

"A twin egg?" Stella said. "What a rare event."

"It doesn't look healthy," Roma said, bending down to look at it. "It must not have gotten much of the nutrients while it was in the egg."

The mother Skarmory nodded.

"What can we do?" Merla asked.

"Right now?" Stella looked down. "Not much of anything. Skarlet have to grow on their own after hatching. The mother collects their first meal, then leaves until the next mating season." As she said that, the mother led her hatchlings to the pile of food, and the three healthy ones ate holes through the lot.

"So, what's gonna happen to it?" Ramson asked.

She hesitated. "Slugma eat Steel-types, especially their young and eggs."

His blood turned to ice. "You're kidding."

"Unfortunately, no."

"Well, can't we catch it, or something?!" He opened his bag. "Come on, I've got a couple Pokéballs right here - "

"Can you take care of a baby Pokémon?" Roma said, pressing his finger against him. "This Skarlet'll take a lot to get to the level that its brothers and sisters are at now, let alone how much stronger they'll get in that time. Can you give it that?"

Ramson flinched. "Well, no, but we can't just leave it to die - "

"We can, and we have to. I can't take care of it, Merla can't, Stella can't, you can't." The little one fumbled over and grabbed a scrap that fell from the main pile. "If it survives, it'll be a miracle. But Pokémon die every day." He looked Ramson in the eyes. "It's a fact of life."

Ramson looked down to the little one. "I just thought we could make some kind of difference here, too."

"We already have," he said. "The eggs hatched, and Tamaha's OK. That's as good as I was hoping for." He got out a Pokéball. "Guess it's time to go. Ready, Tamaha?"

She looked to him and nodded, then walked over and held her head out for capture. Roma tapped her head with the ball, and after three shakes, _Tamaha_ the Skarmory officially joined Roma's team.

"Alright," Stella said, "let's head to Morchella now."

* * *

"I wasn't expecting him to act like that," Merla said to Ramson in sotto voce.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, well." She rolled her head a bit. "Roma's always been a very direct person."

"Could have fooled me," he said.

"I know, he's rude. But when he talked about Pokémon, he was always a little... softer, I guess."

"Well, he's a few months older than he was the last time you really met, isn't he?"

Merla hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, since his mind went back in time, he's got, like, a few months on us, right?"

"I mean, I suppose, but I'm still not following."

"Well, people don't just change. There's a reason. Ask."

Merla opened her mouth. "I don't think I can."

"Right, I guess you're pretty blunt, too. Alright, well, something's been naggin' at me with him, anyway. Be right back." Ramson walked ahead to Roma, who was taking point.

"Hey Roma," he said.

"Hey, Ramson. What's going on?"

"You put us all in danger for no damn good reason back in the volcano, and I don't appreciate it."

"I was trying to save Tamaha," he said.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell us that. If we couldn't track you down, you could have died - hell, you would have died. I'm the oldest person here, so I've gotta be responsible for you. Do me a favor and don't just run off again, huh?"

He sighed. "Fine."

"While we're talking about Tamaha, though," he said with a smile, "I wanna know - how many Pokémon did you catch in the other timeline?"

Roma looked up. "I caught five Pokémon."

"Oh, so you had a team of five for the Pokémon League, then?"

He flinched. "Yeah. I..." He took a shallow breath. "I did."

Ramson nodded. "Alright. So, what were they?" He lifted his hand and drew two fingers. "You had Tamaha, and Snowcap, of course. What else could you catch for that?"

"Can we not talk about this?"

He blinked. "Uh, alright. I was just trying to get to know your old team, that's all."

"Sorry, I'm just not in the mood to talk about battling right now."

"Yeah, okay. I'll give you some space." He fell back to Merla. "Alright, you heard what we were talking about, right?"

She nodded. "It doesn't tell me much, though."

"It tells me plenty. He's impertinent and doesn't respect that people need to know where he is. And - "

"And?"

"Whatever happened back then, it's not a good thing. He completely closed off when I got close to it."

She shook her head. "I'll have to work out a way to ask about it without trying to pry." She sighed. "I'm bad about not prying."

Ramson shrugged. "Hey, everyone's got faults."

* * *

The evening lights shone on the horizon, welcoming the four to the town of Morchella in the nick of time.

"Finally," Stella said. "It feels like that took weeks."

"If we're going to keep going, you should get used to it." Ramson said.

She groaned. "Really?" She pouted. "Ughhhh."

"Alright, that's enough of that. Let's find the Pokémon Center. I'm ready to get some sleep."

"Same here," Merla said.

"It'll be nice to let Tamaha out of her Pokéball," Roma said.

They located the Center easily enough and checked in. Getting handed a pamphlet of the town's attractions, they sat down in the lobby.

"Sweet relief!" Stella sank into the soft chair.

"Yeah, yeah." Ramson leafed through the pamphlet. "Let's see what we can do here. 'List of tourist-friendly restaurants', huh. 'Run by a former member of the Elite Four, Dunnock's is the best place in Morchella to find great poultry for a great price. Trainers welcome to try the Exact-Turn KO Challenge.' Sounds interesting."

"I might head over there," Merla said, "if we need to train."

"While you're out, check the farmer's market for berry farmers," Roma said over Ramson's shoulder. "Seems like they've got one."

"Yeah, but you can do that," Ramson said to him - wow, his eyes were really green! "Uh, you're a little close, Roma."

"Got it." He walked over to a chair and sat down. "I'll ask around, I guess."

"I should probably go with you," Merla said.

"Let him go on his own," Ramson said. "He should talk to people on his own."

"I've done it before," Roma said. "It won't be too tough."

"Is there a library here?" Stella asked. "I'd like to read all I can."

Ramson flipped through a bit, then shook his head. "Just ask at the front desk, I guess. Oh, while you're there, look for any books on Move Tutoring."

She nodded. "That girl, Allison, right? I'll keep an eye out. I'll check out any secondhand bookstores, too." She took out her Pokégear - still charging - and did a search.

"I guess I'll stay here for tomorrow. When should we all meet back up?"

"Let's say, 2 PM at the Gym," Merla said. "One of us can challenge the Gym then, and the other one can do it the next day."

"Assuming you win that day," Stella said.

"Hey, have a little faith," Ramson said.

* * *

After recovering a bit, Merla moved over to the computer and got onto VS Seeker. Clicking on Quadruple_U, she sent the message, "Hey, Woodrow! Still up?"

"Hey, Merla! Yeah, still up. What's going on?" The return message was as messy as ever, but Merla read it fine.

"We just made it to Morchella. I'm going to the Gym tomorrow."

"That Leader won't know what hit 'er. What Gym Leader is it, anyway?"

"All I know is she's an Ice-type Gym Leader. Other than that, I know as much as you."

"So, not much, then. Hey, tell me, what's your Elite Four like?"

"Want to know about Gneiss Bandner, I take it?"

"Curiosity's killing me. Indulge me?"

"The Elite Four here are numbers two through five on the Most Important People list here. They govern over Agricales."

"So, they're politicians? Guess everyone needs a hobby."

"Not really. They don't do politics very much, I'm pretty sure. I think they're more like knights under the Champion's 'King'."

"Ah, yeah, you guys did have a king, right?"

"Three."

"Wow, that's a lot. More than we have over here, anyway. We just got the one king in Thuria."

"Yeah. Looking forward to coming over?"

"Oh, you got no clue, Merla! Still don't know what Gneiss'll be having me do, though. Any clues?"

"I'm not the one with regular contact with an Elite Four memeber, so I've got nothing for you."

"What? Who knows an Elite Four member?"

"Roma, apparently." She stopped herself. "I'm not sure how, though. I'll have to ask."

"Please. I need to know before I get there. My boat leaves in just a week or so."

"Is your Sudowoodo going to be okay?"

"Who, Branchy? Come on, Merla. He's as strong as a horse!"

"So, he'll break down and won't recover?"

"Like he's made'a plastic." Merla laughed. "Anyway, I gotta bounce. My bed's singing it's siren song, and I'm falling under."

Merla chuckled. "Well, don't catch me trying to save you from it."

"Wow, what a bad friend!" He sent a wink. "Night, Merla. Sleep well."

"You too." Seeing Woodrow log out, she messaged another friend who was busy in a virtual battle and needed some advice quick.

* * *

Ramson, meanwhile, just finished texting someone on his phone, from what Stella saw. Tomorrow would be a busy day, and she still had a lot to do. "I'm going to check in with the professor," she said.

"We need to check in?" Roma said.

Stella stared at him, mouth agape. "Yes. We're working for her, Roma. She needs regular check-ups. Plus, I need to exchange some Pokémon."

He shrugged. "Alright. Say hi for me, would you?"

Frowning, she walked over to the transfer machine and inserted her Pokégear. Tapping the Professor's contact, she sent the data on the Pokémon she'd caught so far. She then requested a transfer of a few of her Pokémon, namely the butterfly Amaichou, the firey heart Luvdisc, and the Nidorino that the others had named. In exchange, she got out a small, purple-flamed Litwick, a Shuckle wriggling in its shell, and a female Nidoran. She briefly considered getting a few more, but as long as Ramson, Merla, Roma had what they had, she'd avoid doubling up on Pokémon species.

Even if she did have a Paras, Poliwag, Zubat and Procstrapi.

Now that her business was concluded with the transfer machine, she removed her Pokégear and called someone.

"We've arrived in Morchella."  
.........  
"Aside from the aforementioned Magcargo attack, no. The trip was uneventful."  
.........  
"We'll be here for a while. They insist on taking on the Gyms."  
.........  
"I know. It's still frustrating not to move at my own pace."  
.........  
"Anything unusual?" She thought back to earlier. "Well... No, it's nothing."  
.........  
"Some story they tried selling me. I don't even remember half of it, because it was such a crock."  
.........  
"I don't see it that way, but alright. I'll pay more attention in the future."  
.........  
"I'll let you know when we leave. Bye."

She walked back over to the couch and sat down. On the TV was a rerun of some show.

_"Well, Annie," said the girl sitting opposite the table, "looks like you're going to lose. My Super Armor prevents my Cherubs from being stopped while they're attacking, and you can't possibly survive this attack! Cherub Girl, fire Mystic Arrow!"_

_"Just what I needed!" said Annie, pulling a card from her hand. "I play the card, Demon's Angle! If your attack uses Light creatures, like your Cherubs, I can redirect it to hit anyone on the field! And I choose - " she pointed at the card at the far right " - your Cherub Queen!"_

_"No! But that - " The image of the queen in the background swung her staff at the incoming arrow and casted a spell at the opposing cherub, destroying it. "You made me destroy my own card!"_

_"That's not all I'm doing!" She played another card. "I'm going to destroy the field with this!"_

_"You can't play that card! It's not your turn!"_

_"Yes, she can, Honey," said one of the characters on the sidelines. "You're the one that put Angel's Domain into play! You should know what it does by heart."_

_"Agh! No! I can't believe my own cards are being used against me!"_

"This show is really tough to follow," Roma said.

"Wait until they get to the super boost season," Ramson said. "Even I couldn't follow that one as a kid."

"Why are they even showing this?" Stella asked.

"Oh, you didn't read about it?" He opened a browser and showed her a headline: "Yu-Zu-Oh! Movie Produced for Flix in Reshoots".

Scanning the article proved to contain remarkably little information about the film in question - well, except for one thing. "It's being filmed here?"

"Apparently, Agricales offers good tax breaks," Ramson said. "Well, I'll take any excuse to watch this again."

"It's really stupid," Roma said.

"And that's what I like about it." As the sun set, the three of them - then four, with Merla - enjoyed the show and relaxed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Here we are in Morchella!  
> ...  
> I didn't say we'd be doing the Gym Battle yet, did I? Okay, I meant to, but things got away from me, and I had to wrap up loose ends.
> 
> Yay, Baby Skarmory! I'm not going to say what I've got planned here, but I've got something planned, to be sure. I'm happy with where we are.
> 
> Did you know Louisiana had tax breaks for films shooting here? I know a school that had some people filming in it over the summer and all.
> 
> Next time: The Actual Gym Battle! I Promise! ...After some offscreening!


	26. Frozen Grapes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A REMINDER: In this fic:
> 
> Ice resists Electric, Flying, and Dragon, and is no longer weak to Rock.

Ramson sat in the lobby of the Morchella Pokémon Center, freezing his ever-loving butt off. The doors kept opening and letting all the hot air out. I mean, come on, wasn't summer starting soon? What was with all the cold air?

"I don't know," Kaoru said by text. "It's really your decision."

"It's my decision, but no one is even giving me advice." Ramson set his jaw, though whether it was to stop his teeth chattering or out of frustration, he wasn't sure. "I mean, how well am I even going to use a Magcargo?"

"It depends on how you'll need it. ,{'~' I mean, if you were me, you could use it for Tough Contests."

"There, see, actual advice!" He frowned. "But I don't know how to use it for a Tough Contest."

"You're focusing on Porcini right now, so you need Clever, anyway. `~` I just don't think I can tell you much. I've never used Magcargo before."

"Has anyone?"

"Well, Brace has, but I can't give away his number. `~' Sorry."

Ramson sighed. "That's alright. I'll just have to figure it out."

"Want me to be brutally honest? >~'"

"Go ahead. It's better than being wishy-washy like everyone's been about this."

"I don't think you're a good enough trainer to use your Magcargo."

A numb feeling ran through Ramson's heart and spread throughout his body. Yeah, that about summed him up, huh? "So, should I let it go, or trade it?"

"Neither. You can be that kind of trainer. Just don't give up on yourself."

Ramson stared at the advice on his screen, blushing a bit. "That's kinda corny."

"Is it? /*^v' Well, just be around Magcargo, then. If it isn't obvious soon enough, just keep it around until you are sure one way or the other!"

"That's more practical advice." He looked at the time - 1 PM. "I gotta go. Talk to you soon?"

"Sure thing, Ramson! Tell me if Roma and Merla win!"

"I will."

Ramson put away his phone and started walking to the Gym using the directions in the pamphlet. But, he must have gotten the directions wrong, because he didn't manage to find the Gym. Instead, he arrived at an ice-cream shop of some kind - Agnès Marcel's Frozen Custards, to be precise.

"Is frozen custard an ice cream?" he wondered idly as he walked in. "Excuse me?" he called as he walked into an empty room.

One of the people working there tore her eyes from the wide window at the far south side of the wall to his left. "Ah! A customer! I'm so sorry!" She ushered him over to a table quickly. "I'm sorry, there's a Pokémon battle going on right now below. I'm Della. Please, look over the menu as long as you need."

"A battle? So, am I in the right place after all?"

"Ah, yes. This parlor doubles as a Pokémon Gym. Would you like to watch?" She gestured to the window. "Both participants are down to their last Pokémon."

"Yeah, sure." Ramson looked out the fairly-crowded window, where a middle-aged woman in a blue floor-length dress was directing some bird-like Pokémon against the challenger - a girl, about sixteen, wearing a purple dress with a short-hemmed skirt and short, black hair - "Merla?!" He knocked on the glass with his fist.

"Please don't do that," Della said.

"That's - that's my friend down there! I thought she was going to eat at Dunnock's today!"

"Dunnock's is closed today," she said. "It's the owner's son's birthday."

Ramson smacked his head. "Crap, it is? Wish she'd told me." He peered through the window, and watched the battle come to a close.

* * *

"Closed?" Merla read the sign again, as if that would change the writing on it. "Well, that's great. What am I going to do now?"

She started to pace and called Roma. "Hey, how's it going at the farmer's market?"

"I'm finding lots of fruit," he said, some of the din of the market leaking through. "But not a lot of Berries, though. Apparently, their berry farmer will be here in a couple days, though."

"Ugh. Well, at least we'll have time to win against the Gym." She smacked her lips. "My job was a bust, too. Dunnock's is closed."

"Oh, well. It's not important, you were just curious."

She took a deep breath before responding. "Roma," she said deliberately, "that's not a kind thing to say."

"But you just wanted to try the challenge. If they'll be open tomorrow, it doesn't matter that you couldn't take that challenge today."

She sighed. It really wasn't worth starting the argument. "I wanted to get a little stronger before the Gym Battle, though."

"Well, try it today."

Merla stopped in her tracks. "Uh, are you sure?"

"I don't mind. Just go ahead. And if you win, then you didn't need the extra training, right?"

"I suppose, but - "

"Just do it. You haven't got anything else planned for today but taking it on, so just move it up on your schedule."

Merla hesitated, but nodded. "Alright, if you're sure."

"Go ahead. Huh?" Roma's voice drifted from the receiver. "Oh, that's not a bad deal. I'll talk to you later, Merla."

"Alright. Bye." She hung up and made her way to the Gym.

The Leader greeted her as she entered, an older woman whose thin hands showed delicacy, but her arms showed strength. Despite the dress she was wearing having long sleeves, her arms were still visible, their outlines pushed through the fabric. "I recognize you," she said. "You're the girl who won the battling tournament in Buna-Shimeji, yes?"

"I am," she said. "I've got the Ribbon to prove it." She opened the case she'd gotten for it.

"Ah, good. My memory's still working for me." She gestured to the battlefield ahead of the both of them. "Now, I hope you understand I'm not as spry a Trainer as I used to be. I must apologize for that."

"There's no need, ma'am," she said as they walked down a hall. "You probably still know a lot about battling."

"Ah, that's not why I'm apologizing, dear. No, I'm afraid you'll be having a tough time of it with me as your second Gym Battle. I've got fewer teams than my compatriots, you see."

"Fewer teams." Merla thought about it. Mr. Nero had multiple teams, too. She was pretty sure he had four, or maybe five? "How many do you have, ma'am?"

"Three. One for newer trainers, one starting at the fourth badge for intermediates, and one for advanced trainers beginning for six. How many do you have?"

"I've got one, ma'am." She took out her badge case.

"Ah, Nero? Oh, my!" Her eyes sparkled as she snapped her fingers. "That's where I'd seen you before. Nero brags about you to me all the time." She chuckled. "That boy loves the way you learn. I hope you'll do him proud."

Merla nodded. "Yes, ma'am! I will!"

She laughed. "You're quite the perky one. Well, let me get my team I'll be using for you. Now, which three Pokémon will you be using?"

Merla bit her lip. "I've only got two, ma'am: a Procstrapi and a Flarebuck."

"Ah, is that so?" She nodded. "Well, that won't be too difficult, but if you fail today, I'd suggest you try over on Route 6 south of here. There's usually a few Fighting-types about the place if you know where to look. Or perhaps a Steel-type from Route 5 if you'd prefer that."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do you know what my type is that I specialize in, Ms..."

"Ah, Merla Traub, ma'am!" She shook the Leader's hand. "Don't you specialize in the Ice-type?"

"I do. Do you know what I try to teach my students, as well?"

Merla paused. "Um, I'm afraid Mr. Nero never told me."

"Ah. That boy." She shook her head. "Well, I specialize in understanding type-to-type matchups. It's especially important for the Ice-type, as they have so many weaknesses. What are they?"

Merla nodded. This must be her Gym challenge, then. "The Ice-type is weak to the Fighting type, the Steel type, and the Fire type."

"Good. Now, which Pokémon should you not bring to a battle against only Ice-types?"

"Erm. Well, you wouldn't want to bring Dragon-types, for sure. They're badly damaged by Ice-type attacks. It's the same for the Flying type, Ground, and Grass."

"All true. However, that's not the full answer." She picked up a Pokéball from the pedestal on which she held her team. "Allow me to explain. Though the Ice type has the advantage on those types it damages well, it also has an advantage on types which it resists. Dragon and Flying, yes, but also Ice itself and Electric. In addition, there are Pokémon which are..." She smiled devilishly. "Well, I shall issue you a challenge. You may send out any Pokémon you wish, and attack my Pokémon in this ball. If you win, I will give you a badge."

Merla took a step back. "Really?! That's all I'd need to do?"

"Yes, but if you fail, you may use only one Pokémon against my whole team. You only get one attack, also."

She took a moment to weigh her options, but shook her head. "That sounds too good to be true. I'll have to say no."

Ms. Marcel nodded. "Weren't you tempted? Well, all the better. I use this Pokémon as a trap for foolhardy and hasty people who believe themselves too good for battling. One hit would certainly be easy against any ordinary Pokémon." She reset the ball. "That is no ordinary Pokémon, however. Now, I will meet you at the battlefield, I'm sorry to have to say. I'm moving a bit slow today."

"Yes, ma'am." Merla walked back down the hall and to the battlefield. Slush covered the wet, marshy ground, and some large machines with broad fans lined the wall at the left side. The arena was an odd shape, too - instead of being round, it pinched in at the near sides, to better shape itself to the square main building, Merla supposed. She took the far placement on the field, so that Ms. Marcel wouldn't have to walk as far.

"This will be a regular Gym Battle for TM002 and the Sundae Badge," said the referee. "The challenger may switch their Pokémon and use items, and the Gym Leader may use items only. The Leader will use three Pokémon, and the challenger, up to three. Trainers, send out your first Pokémon!"

Werla sent out Zapp, and Ms. Marcel brought out a small Pokémon, not three feet tall at its highest point - and that was mostly thanks to the singular stem of thin, thready leaves atop its head. Its head made up most of its body, a large ice crystal shaped like a seed, with two rooty legs being the only exception. Within the ice was a relatively small, brown, thin seed, shaped with a pointed top and bottom. Two scared eyes hid beneath the ice on either side of the seed, and it trembled often. "This is my Caramark," Ms. Marcel said. "They are very weak in this state, despite their raw defensive ability. They simply have so little endurance. It is a Grass-type in addition to our standard Ice type. What is the best method available to you?"

Merla opened her mouth to reply, but Ms. Marcel stopped her. "Please, show me in the battle itself."

"Both battlers ready?" said the referee.

They gave their assent.

"The challenger gets the first attack! Begin!"

"Zapp, use Peck!" Zapp dove in, beak aglow, and jabbed at Caramark's stem. It struggled to get away and tried to wave him away with ineffective swipes of its legs.

"Is that so?" Ms. Marcel muttered. "Caramark, use Iron Defense!" Its ice and exposed stem took on a reflective grey sheen, dulling to a deep grey glow. As it faded, Caramark shook just that little bit less. "I'd recommend changing tactics. You can't just Peck your way to victory."

Merla said back, "Mr. Nero taught me a lot about boosting a Pokémon's power, ma'am. If I had a Special attack that would do well, I'd use it." Iron Defense, after all, boosted Caramark's Defense to extreme levels - even if it was unevolved like it seemed to be, Special attacks were the way to go, Merla knew. Too bad Hertz Bullet and Thunder Shock both were Electric-type!

"Perhaps you should switch your Pokémon, Merla," she said.

She shook her head. "I'll have to change my method, that's all. You said Caramark was a Grass-type, too?"

"I did."

"If I keep trying to attack you with Peck, you'll wear Zapp down," she surmised.

"I am certain."

"I didn't want to show this right now," she said, "but I don't think I have a choice." She held out her arm. "Zapp, Flame Charge!" Zapp took a small loop into a dive and lit up with red flames. He crashed into Caramark and knocked it completely down to the ground.

"Ah! Caramark, Leech Seed!" The Vulnerable Pokémon's ice shell was nearly cracked open, and it was in a panic over it. Barely registering the order, it launched a small seed with broad leaves trailing behind it. It stuck to Zapp's torso as he made the knockout blow, cracking the ice shell completely and leaving its cargo sprawled on the ground. The referee's call confirmed it: Caramark was unable to battle.

Ms. Marcel returned the fainted Pokémon. "I'm shamed of myself for not piecing it together earlier. You taught your Pokémon Flame Charge with the TM you got from Nero's Gym." She tutted. "You're slipping, Aggie! That should have been obvious." She switched out her Pokémon. "Well, my dear. This next bout will prove more challenging. I'll be using a Dragon-type."

"A Dragon-type?! Wh - Already?!"

"It is a step up in challenge," she agreed. "However, you must rise to it. You know the Dragon-type's weaknesses and strengths, I presume?"

Merla nodded hesitantly. "I see them - I mean, they're in professional teams all the time, but - "

"Then we begin with my attack." She sent out a small, long dragon. Its scales glinted like ice in the morning sun, a stark, translucent white against its blue skin. A mane of ice shot around its neck, six large, icicle-dripping spikes stealing your eyes away from its fingertips, dyed a hypothermic blue from the cold blood flowing through its arteries. "This is a Wyrmflake. Do your best."

"Begin!"

"Wyrmflake! Use Dragon Rage!" A blue mist leaked from its mouth, its only clue before a wicked beam of blue flame with the illusion of a dragon's head shot out from its cannon of a maw.

"Zapp! Evasive maneuvers!" He pitched his body to roll away from the beam - not the most difficult thing, since it wasn't very fast. He turned himself downward for the counterrattack.

"Behind you!" Merla shouted. Zapp turned around and the dragon's head bore down on him. That was the last thing he registered before the pain of the beam covered him, concussive force slamming him through the air and knocking his head against the wall. "It's a redirectable attack," Merla mumbled, her eyes as large as saucers. Zapp peeled himself off the wall and shook himself in the air. He looked back at Merla for her plan.

"I'll be switching him out," she said. "Is that alright?"

Ms. Marcel nodded. "Please. Your Procstrapi did well, but it's at a significant type disadvantage. Your other Pokémon is a Fire-type, correct? Anything else?"

"Ah, no. Just Fire, ma'am."

"I see. A simple advantage, then, and against a Dragon-type, it is negated."

"He's my only other Pokémon, I'm afraid." She sent Curio out, and he sized up his opponent - likely slow, but powerful - and the area - cold and mechanical. "You get first attack again, of course."

Ms. Marcel nodded. "Wyrmflake. Again, Dragon Rage!" Yet again, the blue beam of dragonfire cracked from Wyrmflake's open mouth.

This time, however, Merla knew what to do. "Curio, Burst Shield!" As the head of the blast stared him in the eyes, Curio charged a single blast of energy and shot it forward. As the head swallowed it, it exploded, taking the beam with it. The explosion folded into itself as it absorbed the Dragon Rage attack, and it finally went with a poof.

"A clever tactic," Ms. Marcel said. "Then, I'll respond with one of my own. Wyrmflake, Raging Shard!" Yet again, a draconic beam erupted from Wyrmflake's maw - but, after Merla called for Burst Shield again, it thrashed its tail forward once, launching an Ice Shard to strike Curio while the more powerful attack held his attention! "It won't do much, but you can't defend from it so easily."

"Then, he'll go on the offensive. Curio, use Incinerate!" His flame spots flashed blue for a split second, and he fired a stream of blue-to-red fire at his opponent. Direct hit - right on the eye!

"Excellent decision! A win through attrition is only possible when you may outlast your enemy! But you must take care that your enemy is not stronger than you! Wyrmflake, Raging Shard again!"

"Curio, blast Ember with your Burst Shield!" As the blasts collided, Curio switched gears as fast as he could and launched a messy Ember - blocking a lot of the ice, but not all of it by any stretch. "Incinerate, again!" Taking a breath, he sprayed another beam of fire - hitting its body. It barely seemed to be fazed by the individual blows, but two in a row was likely leaving it drained. Curio prepared for another round.

"Wyrmflake, again!" The third time, Curio seemed to finally get the hang of it, blocking nearly all the blast and hitting with Incinerate again. He geared up for the last blast - because this would be the last hit it needed! Curio was so excited, he was actually getting shivers!

Wait, was it getting colder in here?

Ms. Marcel smiled. "Ah, thank you, my dear," she said. "You've fallen into this trap so well."

Merla's face drained. "What do you mean?"

She only responded by raising her arm. "Ice Shard." Another lash of the tail, another burst of Embers from Curio.

Another set of marks where the shards hit. "How could that happen?!"

"Supercool," Ms. Marcel said with a neutral face. "When in danger, some Wyrmflake gain superpowered Ice-type attacks. This Wyrmflake is one such example. Now, please, let's finish this. Wyrmflake, Frost Breath!" It took in a great gasp of air and held it for only a moment. A light blue light leaked from its mouth.

"Get it!" Merla ordered. Curio, taking advantage of the last few split seconds he had, inhaled as well.

Fire and ice collided in a burst of steam and smoke. When it cleared... there they laid.

"Curio and Wyrmflake are both unable to battle!" the referee called. "Both trainers, send out your last Pokémon! The challenger has the first strike!"

Ms. Marcel cleared her throat. "Perhaps I got a little too forceful there. I dare say that the customers will notice that. You've done admirably."

"Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it. You'll be sending your ace out next, right?"

"I will. Now, I'd like you to know that I may consider giving you this badge even if you don't win," she said.

"You would? Why?"

"You're demonstrating remarkable ability in this battle. I'd like to reward that. But first." She put her final Pokéball in her hand. "Let's see if you can't take care of this the old-fashioned way, hm?" With a grunt, she hurled the Pokéball into the air and from it emerged a fuzzy white-feathered chick. Its feathers were short and hexagonal, and its beak had a blue wattle dangling from it, matching the slight comb on its head. Its feet were dark blue and its eyes were black beads. "Peepfreeze is a Flying-type like your Procstrapi. I trust you understand its weaknesses?"

"I do." Merla sent out Zapp. At that moment, a pane of glass up above echoed a knock from the other side.

"Good then. By your leave."

"Begin!"

"Zapp, use Flame Charge!" Zapp set himself on fire again and darted in to strike, then soared back up into the sky all the faster for the hit.

"Frost Breath, Peepfreeze." Its breath was wide, due to its inexperience, but it could still deal a lot of damage. Zapp dove around it with difficulty, thankful for the increased speed Flame Charge gave him. 

Despite that, he flinched at something on his chest sapping at his strength. "Ah, the Leech Seed! It's still on him?!"

"It is. Peepfreeze, again!" It charged another blast.

"Haitch!" Merla shouted. (Hertz Bullet took too long to say in a pinch, she had thought. Haitch was easier to say in a flash, with it being only one syllable.) Zapp launched five pellets of electric energy at Peepfreeze's inhaling mouth - rapid-fire hits, with the first getting it especially hard. "Thunder Shock!" He swirled in behind it and fired before it regained its balance.

"Ice Ball!" It spun into a ball and grew ice on its body, taking off with a leap from the ground. Zapp curled around it just fine and shot the bird with another blast of Thunder Shock, sending it sprawling onto the ground. Peepfreeze struggled to get up...

...and collapsed. "This battle is over!" called the referee. "Peepfreeze cannot continue to battle, and so Merla and her team have earned the victory! She will be given TM002, Frost Breath, and the Sundae Badge!"

"An excellent showing by all," Ms. Marcel said as she returned Peepfreeze to its ball. "I'm impressed, Merla. You've shown a remarkable understanding of not only type comparisons, but also creative use of moves. Please." She held out the badge, with multiple circles representing different scoops of ice cream in a bowl, topped with a cherry. "It is yours."

"Thank you, ma'am." Merla took the badge from her hand and set it in her badge case. "Two down, six to go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, six for Merla, anyway. For Roma, it's another seven. So, thirteen in all.
> 
> Math aside, this was a fun one! It'll be even more fun once Merla gets more Pokémon, of course, but for now, she's getting things done.
> 
> Obviously, I fudged Leech Seed a bit, but hey, official media fiddles with it, too. (Did you know? Leech Seed is based off of mistletoe seeds! They're actually parasites, too. I didn't know any of that.)
> 
> I think I'll start leaning into Gyms being ways to teach Trainers different aspects of battles, like stat stages or type matchups. It's more fun to give each one a specific extra bit to make them more unique, in addition to the Gym Challenges themselves.
> 
> Next time, we'll be dealing with Roma's Gym Battle... after his Gym Challenge!


	27. Cut the Custard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roma's Gym Challenge!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you reading this fic in the future, this is a Christmas update I decided to put up here! Hence, the ice cream challenge... even if I hadn't planned that far ahead. Heh. /*`v'

"Merla!" Ramson descended the stairs to the arena as the dust settled.

"Ramson!" she said as he rounded the corner. "I won!"

"Yeah, I saw," he said. "Wish you'd told me first. I've been sitting in the Center since this morning, I could have used the entertainment."

"Sorry," she said. "Roma told me to try the fight because - "

" - Dunnock's was closed. I heard from one of the waitresses." Ramson looked at the Gym Leader. "Guess Roma was right about you being the Gym Leader, huh?"

Aggie nodded. "I didn't realize you two were acquainted. Is it only the three of you?"

Ramson shook his head. "We just picked up a fourth in the volcano. Stella's her name."

"Ah, Stella." She closed her eyes. "I think I know of a Stella. Her last name wouldn't be Kalumpoki, would it?"

Merla's eyes shot open. "How did you know that?"

"Her uncle works with the Elite Four on certain Pokémon-related matters."

Ramson heard a noise that drew his attention to the stairwell: Stella descending the steps. "Ah, speak of the devil. How ya doing, Stella?"

"Well enough." She hefted a book in her arms. "I found a tutoring book for that Allison girl. See?" The book she showed the two of them was clearly very old, with a leather-backed cover that had once been a deep forest green, now faded to a more greyish tint. Branded onto the cover was an imprint of a leaf. "I can barely understand a word of it, but maybe she'll know more."

"Man, if you don't get it, it might be too advanced for her."

"It does use a lot of jargon," she said. "Still, we can't know until we get it to her."

Ramson took out his phone. "I'll text her a pic of the first page and make sure."

"Ah, good idea." She handed him the book, and he sent an image of the title page to Allison.

He got called back immediately. "Hello?"

"Is this Ramson Skordo, the person with the white hair?"

His eyes darted up. "Uh, yeah. You get the picture I sent you?"

"I did! I can't really read it like this, but that signature at the bottom is definitely from a sage-y Move Tutor named Elliot!"

"Oh, good. Glad we could help you - " Ramson cut himself off as he took a closer look at the page in question. The signature "Elliot" was at the bottom, sure. The title, written across the top of the page, made this out to be the Greenleaf Book. But just beneath it... "Book 2?"

"Yes! Move Tutors usually have a few hundred moves in their arsenal by the end of their careers. That book's just the second one of the bunch."

"So, how many are there?"

Allison paused for a moment to consider. "I'd say at least 8 - maybe more, depending on how thick the book is."

Ramson blinked. "We might not be able to get you all eight'a these, you know."

"Oh, no, that's fine! Just the one will help me so much!" Her voice drifted from the reciever. "I have to go - I've got a family thing to go to. Thank you again!"

"Alright. We'll keep looking for these books." They said their goodbyes, and Ramson returned to the conversation the other three people were having.

" - Falsmorel Cave?" Stella said, writing the name down. "Interesting. Will it be open to the public right now?"

"It will be, but without enough badges, you shouldn't go too far in," Aggie said. "The Horrorfrost and Wyrmflake will be dangerous even when you're careful. Try to fight as little as possible, and don't anger them."

"I'll be careful."

"I can be your backup, if you need it," Merla said. "I'd like to find an Ice-type, anyway."

"Hey, everyone." Roma walked down the steps, too, carrying a small cloth bag. "How'd it go, Merla?"

She showed him the badge proudly. "It was a really close battle, too!"

"She did well," Aggie said. "Are you here to battle me, as well?"

"Yeah, Agnès. I challenge you to a Gym Battle."

She nodded. "I'm afraid that, at this moment, I must decline the challenge. Your ally has drained my Pokémon's stamina quite well." Her eyes glinted mischeviously. "However, if you would be willing to wait, I could make it to the Pokémon Center and back in around an hour and a half."

Roma frowned. "I'd rather not just wait here for that long."

She nodded. "Of course. I heard from Nero that you're a strong Trainer already. It wouldn't do to force you to wait like that. So, if you'd like, I can offer you a special activity."

"A Gym Challenge to pass the time?" Roma surmised. "Can you do that?"

"Not officially. However, this is not a Gym Challenge, but a special activity with similar methods, and that is all."

"What happens if I don't do it right?"

"Then, you may still challenge me. You have only one badge, after all, and Gym Challenges begin after two."

"And if I win at this 'special activity'?"

"Then, you may recieve an advantage in the battle of your choice."

The terms seemed reasonable... and just waiting didn't sound very fun. "Alright. I agree."

Aggie smiled. "Then I'll be back by 3:30. I must prepare for the after-dinner rush, and then we'll battle. Have a good time." She escorted Roma to the kitchen, and then the group made their way up the stairs into the restaurant.

"Della, these people are my guests," she said to the waitress Ramson had met just a few minutes ago. "Please get them two scoops of anything they wish and a snack, no charge. The young man down there, too, after the battle."

"Yes, ma'am!" They were sat at a table nearby the glass pane and given menus. "Just call me over when you're ready to order. My name's Della!"

* * *

"You'll be making the Challenge Special today!" The person in charge of the kitchen, Maple, said to Roma. "You've got that space in the kitchen over there," she said with a gesture to the small stove, with a pot on it, and freezer. "Your first set of materials and a recipe will be provided to you for free. Subsequent sets will be given if you win a Pokémon battle." She pointed to the arena space, far from any machines. Her face set in hard lines. "Any of your attacks which reach beyond the circle and hit either a person or machine will result in an automatic failure, and a bill for damages."

"I'll be careful," he said. "So what kind of ice cream is the Challenge Special?"

"That's up to you. We can provide different flavors and materials upon request, or you may use anything you may have, like Berries. To succeed in this Gym Challenge, your recipe must be rated well by a super-majority of patrons who receive it - or in other words, two-thirds of the people who get it must like it. Your Challenge Special will be in a pool of others' Specials, so your friends, if they decide to order it, may not receive yours, but another Gym challenger's."

"I get the picture. Will I have enough time in an hour?"

"You will as long as you use it intelligently. You may begin when ready."

Roma nodded and moved over to the counter, where the recipe card was. "Challenge Special - Custard" was on the front side, and on the back was "Challenge Special - No Egg". "Why have two recipes?" he asked.

"It's for those who are allergic to eggs, or who are pressed for time. It is less complex, and also less rich, for better or worse."

Roma nodded. "I think I know what I should do." Roma set the card down and started to follow the directions. 

He opened a carton of four (unfertilized, thank goodness) Peepfreeze eggs and, one by one, cracked them into a bowl. Then, he took a spoon with a hole in it and picked up each yolk, letting the rest fall away. He transfered each one into a bowl and mixed it with a half-cup of sugar.

Taking another half-cup of sugar, a quart of Moomoo Milk, and some salt to a saucepan, he took out something from the bag he got from the farmer's market: a square watermelon. "Didn't plan to use this so soon," he said. "How should I put this into the ice cream?"

"You'll need to crush it into mush now," Maple said. "You've got a bowl to do that in. Will you need anything else?"

"Can I use my Pokémon?"

"Don't bring them into the regular kitchen, but you may indeed."

"Alright." He took out Tamaha's Pokéball. "Tamaha, I'll need your Fury Attack!" She emerged, and after getting her bearings, she attacked the melon in the bowl with several rapid strikes from her gray-glowing beak. It shattered at her strikes and changed rapidly into mush, which he poured in. "Thanks, Tamaha. Get ready for the battle after this." He returned her to her ball and continued by setting the whole thing to heat and stirred it like it said in the directions.

After adding a lemon and a few other things to help make the melon taste better, he added the milk mixture to the eggs a little at a time and stirred it all together. After making sure it was all mixed right, he strained it and opened the freezer to set the bowl in to cool. Just beside where he put it, he found a bowl with an electric paddle installed. "What's this machine do?"

"That will churn the ice cream." Maple looked at the clock. "2:30... You may not have enough time to use it, though. The custard still has to cool."

He looked at the bottom of the bowl. "It's really thin, too. I won't be able to speed it up with Snowcap's Ice Shard - she'll puncture it."

"Exactly. I'm glad you noticed that - we have to replace those bowls all the time." She shook her head. "Some people just don't think. But, anyway, if you need advice, I'm here to help you."

"Is there still a way to make this work?"

In response, she got out a Pokéball. "We can provide you with assistance, if you beat us in a Pokémon battle." She looked over to a shelf, where another churner sat, with a wind-based turning mechanism. "I presume you don't already have Frost Breath, right?"

Roma shook his head. "I'm supposed to get it here."

"Well, then, if you beat me in this battle, I'll lend you my Pokémon's Frost Breath. Deal?"

"Deal." Roma took out Enoki's Pokéball and prepared for battle.

* * *

"What's taking it so long?" Stella said. "We should have gotten that special by now."

"Maybe they're still making it?" Merla said.

"Oh, the Challenger's Special?" asked one of the neighboring patrons. "Yeah, you guys are gonna be waiting a bit for that."

"Why's that," Ramson said, "Mr..."

"Loquat." They shook hands. "Yeah, they've gotta get the challenger's ice cream first before they do that. It's gotta cool first. Usually, it takes them two days to get it done, cause they freeze it overnight."

"Really? Then, why did Aggie even offer to let him do it?"

Loquat shrugged. "Maybe she just wanted him to make her free ice cream."

* * *

Maple's Swinub finally succumbed to Poison Powder and its head fell to the ground. "Alright, we're done. Good job."

Roma nodded. "So, how does that churner work?"

"Well - ha!" With a burst of strength, Maple cracked a Revive crystal and held it against Swinub's nose. Almost immediately, it rose - shakily - and snuffed. "Well, it uses Frost Breath to turn the crank, and that also keeps the ice cream cool. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes."

Roma's face softened. "That's a long time to use one move, though. Is your Swinub up to it?"

"We're not pushing it to battle strength, so it won't be too much of a strain. I appreciate the concern, though."

He nodded. "Then, let's get it going, I suppose." He transferred the custard to the churner and began the freezing process. 

"We may not be the best fighters, but ice cream is something we've been doing for years." Maple beamed with pride.

"Thank you." A thought crossed Roma's mind. "Do you think you might do this easier if you had a stronger Pokémon?"

She hesitated to answer, but eventually shrugged. "Snuff's usually got enough juice in 'im for work. Besides, evolving's a long way off for us, and we might not have the room in the shop if he turns into Mamoswine."

Roma nodded. "I don't know what it takes to evolve all the way. It might be for the best, then."

Agnès returned with only a few minutes to spare. "Ah, I see the recipe didn't give you trouble."

Roma agreed. "I'm used to finding recipes to follow. Hopefully, enough people will like it."

"Ah, do you like cooking?"

"No, but when you're on the road for months on end, you have to pick up how to cook."

"I see, I see." She looked up. "Now, hold on. I thought Nero told me you two only won against his Gym a week or so ago. Do you travel?"

"No, I usually just stayed home most of the time. Played a lot with the local Pokémon, but that's it."

Agnès paused. "I don't believe I understand you, Roma," she said.

As the ice cream finished, Roma had a flash of inspiration. "Can I ask for one thing when they serve it?"

* * *

"Challenger Special's ready!" called someone with a Swinub as she entered the room holding a large bowl, interrupting the converation Ramson was having with Loquat. "We hope you enjoy!"

Two different scoops of ice cream were placed in front of Ramson. Strangely, both were cut into cube shapes. He seemed to share the green one with Merla, but the yellow one on the left with Stella. Between each scoop was a divider and some kind of biscuit. "For those here who haven't had the Challenger Special before, here are the guidelines." Della stood at the head of the restaurant and demonstrated while the woman with the Swinub talked. "You should take a bite of the scoop on the left first and note how you like it. Then, take a bite of the biscuit to cleanse your pallet. Next, take a bite of the right scoop and note what you like about that one. Finally, your waitress will ask you which you preferred. If you like both, say so."

"We have taken into account any allergies any of you may have," Della said, "and adjusted your ice cream scoops accordingly. Some of you have not been given today's challenger's ice cream, as well. This is a blind taste-test," she said, taking a card, "for Roma Pomadoro's Gym Battle. We hope you enjoy!"

The left scoop, colored a light yellow, tasted a lot like bananas. He wasn't exactly the biggest fan of banana-flavored ice cream, but it did its job well enough, and left a mildly sweet aftertaste. Stella's reaction was about the same: good, not great. They each took a bite of biscuit and moved on to the second.

As Ramson cut into the green cube of ice cream, it revealed its secret: a pink-red center. "Oh, wow."

"It's watermelon!" Merla said as she took a bite. "I love watermelon."

"Clever idea, whoever came up with it." He took a bite of his own and felt a tart note creeping in. "Mm, tastes like it's got lemon in it, too."

"I'm fairly certain that acid is supposed to help with fruit dishes," Stella said. "Wish I had some."

Loquat chuckled a bit at the girl. "Well, you can get some after. They never use all of whoever's ice cream in a Challenge Special." He showed his own plate. "I've got a red-bean one, too - they made that last week." He took another spoonful of the green-faced cube, but found it slipped from his grasp. "Tch, didn't let it freeze enough."

"Do you know all of the challengers' ice cream flavors?" Ramson asked.

"I remember 'em once I take a bite. The Challenger's Special's usually pretty cheap, and I got a sweet tooth." He tapped the green watermelon cube, slowly sagging on the plate. "Don't think I've ever had square melon custard, though."

Merla scoffed warmly. "Oh. Square melon?" She smiled and shook her head. "Of course."

The votes were tallied up. "Alright, thank you all for your patience!" Della said. "According to the results...

"Out of 14 patrons who were served his ice cream, Roma Pomadoro's ice cream was liked by nine of you - a 64% majority!"

"That's great!" Ramson pumped his fist. "That means Roma wins, right?"

Della flinched. "Well, not exactly. I'm afraid it requires a super-majority of patrons for the challenger to win."

"Ah, c'mon, Dell," Loquat said. "Aggie won't get too caught up in a few percentage points, huh?"

"I don't think it will be too much of an issue, no," she said. "But still, I'll bring her the results, and we'll have to see after that."

It was only a few minutes later that the trio were asked if they wanted to watch the match from downstairs, which they readily agreed to. "Alright, Loquat, see ya."

"Bye, Ramson. Hope your friend makes it out alright. Hey, let him know I liked the ice cream."

"Will do."

They descended to the arena once more, as spectators.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Switching perspectives can be a useful tool in writing. It allows a character's biases and thoughts to really come to the foreground when contrasted with someone with different ideas in their head.
> 
> I know, I know. I'm playing really fast and loose with the rules here. But, I mean, it's the Pokémon world. Things are different than they are here. I feel like this is understandable, though.
> 
> I mean, who wants to wait four hours for ice cream? Speaking of which, did you know that not letting it harden properly will give homemade ice cream a sofe-serve like consistency? Presumably, this one was somewhere in the middle, hence the mixed response.
> 
> Square watermelons are indeed real! ...They are, however, purely decorative. They're put into small containers and picked when they're not ripe yet. (read: edible) They also cost some hundred dollars. Like I said, things are different in Pokémon world. If I want ripe square melons, I'm gonna make 'em!
> 
> Next time: the battle proper!


	28. Frozen by the Fire

"Well, the results are in," Agnès said. "And I'll call it your success, Roma."

"That's great!" Ramson repeated. "What are you gonna ask for?"

Roma shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't really need it last time, so - "

Merla drew her arms up and spread her fingers over her mouth; Ramson's eyes bulged from his eye sockets; After a moment, Stella sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Agnès cleared her throat. "Perhaps, young man, they're reacting to you saying you did this 'last time'. This is only the second time I've met you, and the other time was at the tournament in Buna-Shimeji. I don't believe you've ever challenged this Gym before, either."

And then the other shoe dropped for him. "Oh, right."

"You're kinda stupidly loose with that, Roma!" Ramson said. "What's wrong with you!"

"Well, she would have found out eventually, anyway."

"That doesn't mean you should just bring it up like it's nothing!"

"Perhaps we shouldn't put the cart before the horse," Agnès said. "Explain what you meant."

Ramson sighed. "Go ahead and tell her, Roma. Ya made your bed."

"...What?"

"Ya made your bed, now lie in it!" Ramson's face dipped a shade redder.

Roma stared at him, not understanding the idiom.

Merla jumped in. "Roma, let's just explain to Ms. Marcel how this all started."

Roma nodded, and explained the events from just two weeks ago and still so many more in the future. As the others came into the story, they added their parts in.

Agnès listened with a stoic expression, and asked no questions. At its conclusion, she closed her eyes for only a second. "I see," she said simply. "We've kept the crowd long enough, though." She smiled. "Please, let us take our positions at opposite ends of the arena."

Maple officiated the battle. "This will be a standard Gym Battle between the Gym Leader, Agnès Marcel, and the challenger, Roma Pomadoro! Ms. Marcel may use items, and the - "

Agnès interrupted her with a lift of her palm. "Thank you, Maple, but this will not be a standard battle. Mr. Pomadoro, I will tell you of a special feature of this battlefield." She threw her hand upward. "Plexus! Discharge!"

Suddenly, the area within the arena lit up with the force of a few thousand volts spread haphazardly around the arena, striking the machines at the sides of the field. Slowly, their fans spun to life and with every revolution, the room grew colder. "These are cooling fans," she shouted over the din. "Activate them to cool the ground! The noise should also provide adequate distraction from orders. Do you understand?"

"I got it!" Roma shouted back. "Will they be on at the start?!"

"No!" Aggie had Maple activate the switch to drain the batteries. "We use those fans in our freezers for cooling large batches of ice cream and custard. You may take advantage of them as you wish."

"Why's she telling him this?" Ramson asked from behind a plexiglass barrier behind Roma's spot close to the stairs.

"I don't know," Merla said. "Maybe she's expecting him to know how to use the environment?"

"In addition," Agnès said, "neither of us may switch our Pokémon or use items. Is that understood?"

Roma was surprised by the change in rules, but he agreed all the same.

"Very well!" said Maple. "Neither participant may switch Pokémon or use items! If you return a Pokémon to its ball, it will be considered out of bounds and unable to battle! The teams of each may not have more than three members! Battlers, your first Pokémon!"

After a moment of consideration, Agnès sent out a great, bulky Pokémon, a wall of ice protecting thick stalks of some plant. Strong roots brought it low to the ground, but they wouldn't break easily at all. From the stalk and out of the ice came a blooming tree of small white flowers, and at their base was its face: fiercely determined and righteously angered.

"Wait, she didn't use that Pokémon in our battle!" Merla said.

"She might be testing him," Stella said.

Roma, focusing on the ball in his hands, switched it out for another. "Snowcap! You've got this!"

"An Ice-type for an Ice-type battle?" Ramson said. "That a good idea?"

"She's got Flame Charge," Merla said. "And it looks that's Caramark's evolved form. It'll be really weak to fire."

Maple called for the match to begin. "Snowcap, Tackle!" She ran forward cloaked in a grey energy, head lowered.

"Huh?"

Agnès's head lowered, and her face set with determination. "Carey, Hail."

"Hail?! It knows Hail?!" Merla said as the ceiling became covered in a cloak of blue, cloud-like energy from which small pellets of ice rained down.

"Is that so surprising?" Ramson said.

"Yes! This is _not_ a normal Gym Battle! She's using really advanced strategies that she shouldn't be using on someone with only one badge!"

"Well, he didn't have just one badge, right? He had all eight."

"Ah - !" Merla was struck by that fact. "Then, she's treating him like..."

"Tackle, again!" Roma called, and Snowcap struck Carey's cold shell. "Alright, now Ice Shard!"

"I don't understand it," Merla said. "Why isn't he using Flame Charge? Even if its evolved, it would chew through - "

"Maybe Roma knows that would be a bad idea," Stella said.

"Oh," Ramson said, "so you're admitting that Roma might - "

"No, he could have learned it in any of a number of ways - read it at a library, overheard it at the Pokémon Center."

Ramson had to agree reluctantly. "Not really any proof one way or the other, I guess."

Roma called for a break to the assault. Snowcap stumbled back - barely having made a chip in Carey's ice.

"Do you yield this fight?" Agnès said.

Roma panted. "It's cheap to use your trap." He heard Merla gasp behind him.

She paused. "It is. It's also what an enemy like this supposed Team Fortune would do." She nodded. "That said, there will be no battle at this rate. I concede that much." She pulled from her pocket a small bottle of medicine and threw it across the arena with a shout of "Here!" She then returned Carey to its Pokéball. "Another concession."

Roma caught the small bottle - a plastic ampoule of amber liquid, with a spot for a medicine applicator. The label printed on it read "Max Elixir". "Does this count as my advantage?"

She laughed. "No, it won't. I will not be using my Carablock during this match. I wish you luck with the remainder of the battle. You may choose which Pokémon to send into this next fight." She sent out the Peepfreeze. "Attack when ready!"

Roma applied the medicine to Snowcap, but got out a different Pokéball. "Alright, then. Tamaha, it's your turn!" She was ready from the word 'go', giving a great and terrible metal-on-metal cry as she left her Pokéball.

"Begin!"

"Tamaha, use Steel Wing!" She lumbered forward with metal-shining wings and aimed to throw her weight into her strike.

"Shock Wave," Agnès said. The small ice-type chick drew its wings back and pushed them together just so swiftly, the barest edges of its feathers touching. From it came a great blast of electricity. Tamaha, wanting not to be struck by lightning, broke her attack and bent herself backward to avoid the electricity. It arced straight past her and into the industrial fan.

She'd never been the target in the first place.

* * *

The fans rumbled to life and began to stir around the cold air. Hail fell from the sky and crashed against Tamaha's feathers. Barking something choice at it, she waited for Roma's next order.

His muffled, muffled order. Whatever, she'd just have to fight on her own for a bit.

Roma gritted his teeth. No matter how loud he could get, he wouldn't stand a chance of getting complicated commands out. He'd just have to rely on simple orders, then. "Go!"

Tamaha dashed forward, wings set up again for Steel Wing. She brought them in a crash down to Peepfreeze's body and knocked it away.

It responded with another blast of that Shock Wave attack. As Tamaha tried to dodge, the electric arc curved through the air to strike her in the chest. She sounded a piercing cry because of that piercing attack. Over the din, she barely heard Roma's voice: Go. So, she did, gearing up for Fury Attack and charging low to the ground.

Another Shock Wave was incoming. Tamaha nearly tried dodging again, but instead pushed forward. The electricity entered through her beak and arced through her, passing from her left leg to her right as it painfully worked to find a way to the ground.

Roma gritted his teeth. "Keep it up, Tamaha! Go!" She pushed and pushed - at some point, her beak definitely hit Peepfreeze, so she swung wildly. All she saw was tinted white - the walls - the hailstones - her enemy - even the ground was fading in color, its marshy body drying into slippery ice. 

Another blast shot through her, and it nearly did her in. Her heart slammed in her chest. In a rage and a daze, she swung with Steel Wing and connected - no, it was the ground! She could feel the hit that would punish her for her mistake coming - a fraction of a fraction of a second where the electric charge pulled itself through Peepfreeze's wings. Only enough time to turn around. In slow motion the arc seemed to come for her.

It was a heartbeat away. A dilation - 

_Can't stop it!_ Roma's raw emotion came to her, unbidden. _We have to -_

a compression -

_Endure!_

and it hit. In an instant, it was over. It had passed through her body and wracked her frame with pain. Perhaps that pain would never truly fade...

Still, it had only been one moment. Struggling to hold herself upright, she cried in defiance! This was not the blow that would fall her! She would win this fight! This power proved it, this red glow that enveloped her! She would Endure any attack! With renewed fire, she threw herself into the fight once more, slamming her Steel Wing into the Peepfreeze and closing the gap before it could recover! She barged into it and pinned its body to the ground, taking another Shock Wave, and Fury Attacked over and over, her beak striking true and hurting it heavily, but knocking it from her grasp.

It rolled to a stop and didn't move. The third person on the field yelled something Tamaha couldn't hear, and it was returned to its ball. Had that meant she won? Good. But she likely had another opponent, and it would likely be as tough, if not tougher.

Her guess was right - a Wyrmflake was her next opponent. Nuisances, they were, though they didn't go near the volcano as chicks very much. The adults, on the other hand, were the reason the volcano hadn't erupted recently - at least, as far as she knew. Damn things were cold enough. The third lady, presumably the one in charge, held up her arms and barked an order.

Taking that as the signal to begin, she charged forward. These things were as weak to Steel Wing as the Peepfreeze was, and that was a good thing. They were slow, too, slower than her. She might be able to handle this just fine.

It opened its mouth and launched that contemptible arc of electricity as well. She'd just have to move straight through it, then! Just a push forward through it - the pain would pass - she slammed her wings into its head, two in one strike! Setting it ears ringing, she followed up with Fury Attack and again with a Metal Claw into the air - and a slam to the ground before it got too high with another Steel Wing! It rolled away like a branch along the ground, barely managing to stand. All she'd have to do is press the - !

* * *

Roma's heartbeat roared in his head. This was going amazingly! He might not even need to use Snowcap and Kasho at this rate! Those fans prevented Agnès from giving her own orders, but Tamaha seemed to know exactly what Roma needed her to do before he could articulate it! All they had to do was press the attack, and the battle would be over! 

But as he thought that, the fans' whirling died down - and, as luck would have it, the Hail, too. Alright, so Agnès would be able to give orders. But as long as that move held out, whatever it was, Tamaha couldn't be beat!

"Wyrmflake," she said, "switch to Ice Shard." That was the first time she'd even tried to say anything since the fans started - then again, she was probably used to it. Her face was an unreadable mask.

Tamaha dashed forward and dragged a Metal Claw across Wyrmflake's body, running it down its scales and leaving marks. She tried kicking it over, but it whapped her with its tail to knock her off balance. She stumbled backward and bowed her head to keep from falling. It slashed at her with a few shards as she righted herself.

She charged low to the ground and tried to fling it into the air with Metal Claw or Fury Attack, scratching at it and slamming it with her beak and taking Ice Shard after Ice Shard. They traded attack after attack, blow by blow, and Wyrmflake was pulling behind compared to Tamaha's boundless aura.

Her red glow, though, soon was exhausted, and with it went her fire. Suddenly, she slumped over, haggard from the effort it took to take the hits. Roma himself was fairly winded, too. She could barely hold herself aloft, let alone shrug off any other attacks.

Especially not the Ice Shard that cut straight into her wing and forced her to a knee. Her breath fled her body and her entire face pulled taut. Was this where she would fall? Her head waved uncertainly through the air, sinking ever downward. It was the limit of her strength at this point, it seemed.

_No!_ Tamaha slammed her foot to the ground and forced herself to her feet one more time. This was a battle she wouldn't lose! Not like this! She was battered, beaten, but this wasn't the last thing she'd do!

_Nostalgia._ That feeling washed over him, for some reason. Something from long ago pulled Roma back where he'd never been, to a force he'd never felt, against a foe he'd never faced. Had he been there before - No. So why did it feel so familiar? _One more time!_ Whatever it was, it was what they needed. It was strong - unrestrained. All they had to do was tap into it!

* * *

Stella screamed as Tamaha's battered Skarmory body took on a blinding white glow, a giant shriek of myriad Whats and Noes.

"Why are you freaking out?!" Ramson said. "Pokémon evolve all the time!"

"Not like this!" she shouted, her voice still two octaves too high. "Pokémon evolve in certain ways like after making an opponent faint or getting exposed to certain radiation, not just in the middle of battle!"

"I'll say it like this, then! _Roma's_ Pokémon do this a lot, it feels like! What is this, the third time?" he asked Merla.

"Hari, Snowcap, Snowcap again - this is number four."

"Again, not like this!" Stella said. "This shouldn't be possible! There's no way this could have happened!"

"And why's that?"

She threw her hands down, palms-up. "Skarmory doesn't _have_ an evolution!"

Ramson threw his own arm to the Pokémon glowing white before him. "Well, clearly, it does!"

And then, the Skarmory's white light shattered - not faded, as a successful evolution would have, but broke in chunks and pieces, like it would if a Pokémon were _shocked out of evolving_. There was no mistaking it - it was the evolution glow, for a fully-evolved Pokémon.

Clearly, it did.

Roma fell to a knee, panting heavily. Tamaha collapsed to the ground, and the referee called the battle in Wyrmflake's favor. It took him a moment (more than a minute, by regular definition) to right himself fully. The Gym Leader only watched as he did so.

Stella was sweating through her blouse at the display she'd just witnessed. It was clearly impossible. Not only could Skarmory not learn Endure normally, and not only did it not protect a Pokémon that long before breaking, but Skarmory absolutely couldn't evolve! No, they couldn't! It wasn't possible!

So what did she just see? Her heart pounded up her throat. What had that been? Oh, her heart had never raced this fast in her life! She brought her hand to her chest and tried to calm down.

Roma sent out Snowcap. They were each down to their final Pokémon, then - no, Roma still had one more, right? He had a numbers advantage, then. She didn't know enough about battling to know if that would be enough.

"Will you be alright?" asked the Gym Leader. Her expression hadn't changed for most of the battle. She was very good at keeping calm - or _cool_. Despite herself, Stella chuckled at the thought. Good one, Stella.

"I'll be fine," Roma said, still panting. "I'm ready when you are."

She nodded. "Very well. Your attack."

"Begin!" called the referee.

"Snowcap, use Flame Charge!" Covered in fire, she ran forward and aimed for the battered Wyrmflake, but it jumped out of the way with astonishing power for how weak it should have been.

"Shock Wave," said the Gym Leader. It fired one of those arcs of electricity at Snowcap, who couldn't hope to dodge it. Still, it didn't seem to hurt her very much. She was Grass- and Ice-typed, after all. Very resistant to Electric-types.

Roma countered the attack with one of his own - Snowcap's Ice Shard. Against the Ice-type, it wouldn't do much, but it was a ranged attack that didn't require her to move much to be effective. Shards flew through the air, crashing against the Wyrmflake's own. Each time, a few of each attack broke through the collision and struck their target. Since Snowcap was fresher and had taken less damage, she and Roma would likely win the battle.

The Gym Leader threw out her arm. "Shard of Rage!" Not a move Stella recognized - but Merla seemed to.

"She did something like that in my battle! She taught it two ways to - "

After it fired the Ice Shard, Wyrmflake took in a breath and began leaking blue mist from its mouth.

"Snowcap! Use T - " The Rage part of the attack shot from Wyrmflake's mouth, a blue beam of burning Dragon Rage streaming forward with a focused head directly aimed at Snowcap. Roma seemed to flinch as it left the Ice Blood Pokémon's mouth. "Mille Feuille!"

Merla freaked out. With a shout of "Get down!", she knocked Stella to the floor behind the barrier's concrete base.

Ramson swore as he ducked down, too. "Isn't that the thing he used at the pond?!"

"Yeah! What the hell is he thinking?!"

The din of the attack cut off any further conversation. A blast of green light and generated leaves covered the ceiling, leaving no mote of white light to be seen. It crashed against the barrier and slashed at its base, mounds of leaves disintegrating on contact as their purpose was spent, leaving only a few hairs behind.

Eventually, the noise died down, and the trio craned their necks over the concrete to see what had happened.

There Roma laid on the ground, clutching his head.

Merla pushed her way past Stella and out to the arena, shouting for Roma to talk to her and asking if he was alright. It seemed to shake him back to life, and he stood to try to continue the battle.

"No," said the Gym Leader at Roma's side. It was a simple statement, with no room for argument.

Not that Roma didn't try. "I feel fine! I can - "

"No." If it were possible to be more curt, she certainly would have been.

"I can still fight! I'm finishing this battle!"

"If you try, you will kill yourself where you stand." The way she said it didn't have any moral judgement, but it was a harrowing sentence. "Rest. This battle is forfeit." She walked away, ignoring Roma's protestations.

When he tried to follow after her, his legs gave out under him. As she made to round the corner, he shouted after her, "I'm using my advantage! I'm coming back for a rematch, tomorrow!"

She left without a word tossed back at him.

Merla and Ramson took his arms and the four of them walked back to the Pokémon Center, where they wouldn't talk about what had happened. Not tonight. It was all too fresh in their heads, too mixed up.

You would have had to be a master at keeping calm to remember it all.

* * *

Room: Castle Forum 

[Now joining chatroom: QueenOfCustard.] [The current topic is: **Trevor's birthday!** ] 

FireAndFiddle : Hello, Agnès.  
EscaperArtist: Yo, Ags!  
FireAndFiddle: When's our rematch going to be?  
QueenOfCustard: Is everyone here?  
EscaperArtist: Not in the mood to talk, huh?  
: Yeah, everyone's here to wish Trev a happy birthday.  
BirthdayBoy: Can I change my name back now?  
: Forget it, I'll just take care of it.  
: /name BirthdayBoy AllsNormal 

[BirthdayBoy changed their name to AllsNormal.] 

AllsNormal: Besides, my birthday's not until this weekend.  
PepperPlant: Ah, c'mon, Trev! Live a little. It's not liken your birthday happens every day!  
: *like  
AllsNormal: It's just embarrasing, that's all.  
QueenOfCustard: /rollcall 

[Present: AllsNormal, IslandHopper, EscaperArtist, WaxingEloquent, FireAndFiddle...] 

QueenOfCustard: Infernal command. I'd like the rest, too.  
EscaperArtist: Look, everyone's here, Ags! All eight Gym Leaders and every member of the Elite Four, too!  
QueenOfCustard: Is Punch?  
WaxingEloquent: Well, Punch? Are you here?  
Pulcinello: .  
QueenofCustard: Alright, then.  
: /floor 

[QueenOfCustard has asked for the floor of the forum. Tallying votes...]  
[9/3 in favor.]  
[ **QueenOfCustard** : I have news of the two Trainers who came from Nero's Gym.  
FireAndFiddle: Who, Roma and Merla?  
**QueenOfCustard** : Yes. To begin with, they have two others with them now.  
FireAndFiddle: That's great! I did think Merla needed to make more friends.  
**QueenOfCustard** : One of them is a former member of Team Fortune.  
FireAndFiddle: Not that I ever told her that, of course.  
EscaperArtist: Wait, those guys they were talking about on Channel 1 News?  
DrakeSlayer: Those people... they said their motives weren't clear.  
**QueenOfCustard** : In addition, their other friend is Stella.  
NutsForHer: Huh?!  
NutsForHim: What? You don't mean Felix's daughter?  
**QueenOfCustard** : I do.  
AllsNormal: Please, change your names.  
**QueenOfCustard** : In addition, they claim to know one of the goals of Team Fortune:  
: the closure of the Pokémon League.  
AllsNormal: Wait, that guy?! He's that guy?!  
IslandHopper: You know them, son?  
AllsNormal: That Roma guy crank called me with a cock-and-bull story about time traveling.  
: He didn't actually have any real evidence, so I pretty much forgot about it.  
: Crap, I think I said I'd meet him in Matsuke City, too.  
EscaperArtist: Well, let me know if you want a match while you're here!  
AllsNormal: I'm gonna have to go at this point, huh?  
Oroculer: I think it would be a good idea.  
EscaperArtist: Welp, you heard Py. See you when they get here, kid!  
**QueenOfCustard** : At any rate, we'll need to gather information about Team Fortune.  
: /vote "I think they should be our top priority." 

[ **QueenOfCustard** has called for a vote on "I think they should be our top priority." Answer with "/vote Y" or "/vote N". Tallying votes...]  
[Votes tallied. It's unanimous! (12/0)] 

**QueenOfCustard** : Alright, then.  
: /floor 

[QueenOfCustard has ceded the floor.] 

QueenOfCustard : Hopefully, we'll be able to uncover something before Roma and  
: Ah, no, I'm not done.  
: /floor 

[QueenOfCustard cannot take the floor for (5) minutes.] 

QueenOfCustard: Oh, right.  
PepperPlant: What else is there to talk about it?  
QueenOfCustard: It's about Roma himself. He challenged my Gym today, and did very well.  
FireAndFiddle: Has Merla challenged you yet?  
QueenOfCustard: She did, and won.  
: But more to the point. During our battle, Roma's Skarmory showed exceptional ability.  
: At a point, it seemed as if I would win with Shock Wave.  
LightningRod: You used Shock Wave on a new Trainer?! I taught your Pokémon that for advanced Trainers, Agnès!  
QueenOfCustard: He's challenged my Gym before. I offered him a proper challenge, and he agreed to the terms.  
: Regardless, his Skarmory nearly lost despite its power.  
: Then, something strange happened: It used Endure.  
IslandHopper: That's not too unusual. Skarmory can have Endure as an Egg Move.  
QueenOfCustard: True, but this was a wild Skarmory only a short time ago, according to Merla.  
: Nevertheless, the fact that its Endure clung to its body like an aura surprised me.  
: It was even protected from the Hail I'd set up earlier. AllsNormal: Wait, what?!  
Oroculer: Is that true?!  
EscaperArtist: That's pretty weird. Endure don't do that, right?  
QueenOfCustard: This wasn't any command Roma gave, either. The fans were running.  
NutsForHer: Those things are loud enough to drown out a helicopter.  
NutsForHim: Were you wearing hearing protection?  
QueenOfCustard: I'd forgotten to, no.  
NutsForHer: Ms. Marcel, really! Your health is nothing to take lightly!  
NutsForHim: Make sure you wear them from now on!  
AllsNormal: Can we get back to the topic at hand?  
QueenOfCustard: Right.  
: The Endure wore down after he'd fainted one of my Pokémon and dealt heavy damage to the other. Then, his Skarmory became fatigued at once.  
: And so had Roma himself.  
WaxingEloquent: What?! Are you sure it wasn't just the intensity of the battle?!  
QueenOfCustard: It could have been a combination of both.  
Pulcinello: What do you mean?  
EscaperArtist: He speaks! It's a miracle!  
WaxingEloquent: Jean!  
QueenOfCustard: His Skarmory then broke evolution and fainted.  
IslandHopper: WHAT?!  
Pulcinello: It did?  
IslandHopper: Are you sure about that?! Skarmory has no recorded evolution, Agnès!  
QueenOfCustard: It seems it does.  
IslandHopper: What you're suggesting is  
: exactly that.  
QueenOfCustard: Punch, I trust your judgement.  
: What do you think?  
Pulcinello: .  
: I have to see him.  
WaxingEloquent: Punch, you don't have to. I can meet him in Morchella and figure it out.  
Pulcinello: You're wrong, sis.  
: I don't have a choice.  
: If it's true, he deserves to know. : If it's not, then I don't know.  
WaxingEloquent: I.  
: If you're sure about this, then I can't stop you.  
AllsNormal: Well, they're already heading down to Matsuke after today, so you won't have to wait too long.  
QueenOfCustard: Roma didn't pass my Gym Battle. He collapsed after expending too much energy.  
Pulcinello : .  
AllsNormal: Is he good to battle soon?  
QueenOfCustard: I'm not a doctor. I couldn't tell you. I won't accept his rematch until he's well, though.  
: Punch, I'll send you a message when he wins. Expect him at some point after, along with his friends.  
Pulcinello: .  
QueenOfCustard: Well, that's all the news I had to bring to our attention.  
: /floor 

[QueenOfCustard has asked for the floor of the forum.] 

QueenOfCustard: Oops.  
EscaperArtist: Well, let's fix that, huh, Trevor?  
AllsNormal: Oh, there's an idea. /floor 

[QueenOfCustard's request for the floor has been challenged by AllsNormal.] 

QueenOfCustard: /floor cede 

[AllsNormal's challenge has been ceded to. AllsNormal now requests the floor. Tallying votes...] 

EscaperArtist: Great, now we can sing Happy Birthday to Trev!  
AllsNormal: HEY WAIT A SECOND! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm really getting into the battle scenes. Good thing I'm writing Pokémon fanfic! God, this one was fun.
> 
> Since I've already told you Nero's name, I suppose I'll say also that Agnès Marcel's name comes from Agnes Marshall, the Queen of Ices, a.k.a. the woman who invented and popularized ice cream in the US with her "cornets and cream" recipe.
> 
> ...Guess you can tell that each of the Gym Leaders are going to have a similar name, huh? Well, see if you can figure out their names from their chatroom names! I will tell you though, it's just the Gym Leaders, not the Elite Four. ...Which ones are the Elite Four? Well, you'll have to figure that out! ;D (I guess you already know two of them, but still.)


	29. A Slow Weight

"You need to lie down." Merla pressed her hand against Roma's chest. "You just collapsed!"

"I feel fine," he said. "I've got to train."

"You get up from that couch, and I'll knock you on the head," Ramson said. "You're getting some rest whether you like it or not."

"Don't do that," Stella said, "you'll just give him a concussion."

He scoffed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's already got brain damage."

"Ramson!" Merla said, scandalized.

"He's still trying to get up," he said with a throw of his hand, "even though we've been telling him not to, Aggie told him not to, the doctor told him not to!"

"He said I wasn't injured," Roma said.

"He also said you're freakin' exhausted, man. Get over yourself and get some rest. The Gym'll still be there in the morning."

"I've been exhausted before, it's no big deal."

"You're not training any more today," Merla said. "Please, Roma. I'm worried about you."

Roma looked her straight in the eyes, and dropped his shoulders. "Fine. For the rest of today." He leaned back on the couch. "But I'm getting back into training tomorrow, and you won't stop me." He closed his eyes and rolled onto his side.

"Alright, now that that's settled," Ramson said, "what's our plan from here? Merla's got her second badge, so are you two heading to that cave Aggie was talking about?"

"I'd like to," Stella said. "Ice-types are common in this area, and remarkably little is in the Pokédex about them. We need raw data."

"Besides," Merla said, "I'd like to see what's so special about that Carablock Pokémon Ms. Marcel had, and Caramark should be somewhere around town."

"Alright," Ramson said. "Be careful, okay? I'll keep with Roma tomorrow and make sure he doesn't knock himself out again."

"Please," she said. She looked at him on the couch, already asleep. "I know he's acting like he's invincible right now, but he's really weakened. I just don't know how to get it through to him."

"Hopefully, he'll get the picture."

* * *

"You don't have to watch me, you know," Roma said as he stood at the battle field outside the Center. Ramson sat behind him on a bench, holding his arms and shivering. "I'm going to be fine."

"I'll believe you once you f-finish training and you haven't collapsed," he said, through chattering teeth. "B-besides, I haven't got anything else t'do."

"Could you at least sit inside?" he said. "Or put on something besides a tank shirt? You look like you're going to die of hypothermia."

"I don't have any other clothes," he said. "Kinda left in a h'ry." He shivered.

"That's gonna be a problem." Roma started walking back in the Center. "Come on, we've got to buy something for you."

"You don't have to, I'll k-get used to it."

"If you're going to follow me around, you might as well take what I can give you."

Ramson hemmed and hawed about it, but acquiesced. "Don't push yourself too hard, though - I'm the one responsible for you."

"Yeah, sure. The store in the Pokémon Center should have something you can wear for now."

Inside, they were pointed to a store that would sell better clothes for the weather, and they decided to visit it after training. In the meantime, Ramson got a long-sleeve white shirt with a pouch pocket to wear, and Roma bought some gloves to keep his hands warm. So equipped, they returned outside.

Roma began his training by taking out Snowcap's Pokéball and twisting the knob before he let her out. "Hey, Snowcap!" he said. "Ready for training?"

She nodded, and took her position... at the opposite side of the arena?

"Whoa, what's goin' on here?" Ramson said.

"We're training," Roma said. "Right now, we're working on her Attack power." He took a few steps forward and took a position like he was going to wrestle... Oh, no. No, no - !

"Tackle, Snowcap!" She lowered her horns and charged directly into him, leaving a grey trail. Roma hurled her harmlessly aside and prepared for her next attack.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Ramson threw himself from the bench and pushed the two apart. "Did you seriously just do that, you idiot?!"

"We're training - "

"Not on you, you're not!" His face was a deep crimson. "There's no way in hell you thought I'd be okay with you letting your Pokémon actually attack you! What is going through your head?! Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?!" He gasped, his fury broken. "Oh god, I sound like my parents!"

Roma looked down, his hand on his stomach. "I'm usually alright after we train. You don't have to worry about it."

Ramson sighed and put his hand to his temple. "Alright, I'm gonna... I gotta try to stay calm when I say this, Roma." He took another breath. "Right now, you can't take these kind of risks with your health - not until we figure out what's going on with you." He put his hand on Roma's shoulder. "I know that your pride is probably hurting after the Gym Battle, but this... it's not the right way to fix it." He led the both of them to the bench. "Talk to me."

"About what?"

"About how you're doing. I want to listen. How do you feel?"

Roma looked down to his hands... and then to Snowcap next to him. "Hey, Snowcap. I guess let's take a break for right now." He tapped her with her Pokéball, and she changed back into white light and returned to it. "I'd just rather not say it in front of her, but...

"I'm disappointed."

"In her? She barely did anything."

"No, Snowcap did fine! It was me. I didn't do enough for her - for them."

"You did plenty enough from where I was sitting."

But, he shook his head. "I froze up. I fainted. We did better last time, with fewer Pokémon! I had to get Tamaha just to stand a chance last time, but this time, I had Kasho, too! And Enoki! I could have won, and I didn't."

"Aggie was pushing back on you really hard, though. If you were working at the regular level, don't you think you would have won?"

"That doesn't matter, Ramson. I didn't win, and it was my fault."

"You're going to challenge her again today, right? Why's it matter that you didn't win that time?"

Roma sighed, and stared at the ball in his hands. "She deserves to know I'm doing my best."

Ramson looked down at Snowcap's Pokéball. "I'm pretty sure she gets it, Roma. You've got a pretty single-minded focus on your Pokémon. I doubt that it isn't getting through to her."

He only sighed deeper. "I don't think so."

Ramson hesitated at what to say next. It's not like he knew Roma's Pokémon - or any Pokémon, for that matter - better than Roma did. "I guess, just try not to get yourself killed trying to prove it? She won't ever get the message if you aren't around to tell her."

Roma looked up for the first time, blinked his eyes. "Yeah." He nodded absently. "I guess she won't."

He would have continued the thought, but he recieved a message - from Kaoru. "Testing. Check, one two. Is this Ramson? :?"

"Ah, it's Kaoru," he said. "You, uh, gonna take it a little easier?"

"I will." Roma took out two Pokéballs and tossed out their occupants - Tamaha and Kasho. "I'll hold off on the direct training for now."

Ramson thanked him, then turned his attention to Kaoru.

* * *

"Caramark are on Route 6?" Merla asked the town guard at Falsmorel Cave's entrance.

"They are, ma'am. Planning on adding one to your team?"

"I thought about it," she said. "Is it a good idea?"

"Well, if you can evolve it, sure. But a buddy of mine's got one, and he says he can't it to evolve no matter how much he battles."

"He should try an Ice Stone," Stella said. "If what I've read is right, that should work."

He nodded. "I'll have to tell him. Thanks, miss."

"So." Merla leaned in. "May we please go in the cave?"

He hesitated. "Ah... I suppose it won't hurt too much. You've got the Sundae Badge, after all. But stay on the marked paths, and don't go farther than the Horrorfrost territory markers! They're nasty buggers!"

"Will do," Stella said as she zipped into the cave before he had time to change his mind. Merla bid him a hasty goodbye and joined her.

"So, to confirm," Merla said, her hands clasped together. "You're going to try to catch a Horrorfrost, and you're expecting me to help you."

"I am, and I do."

She sighed. "Well, at least you made yourself clear. I'll get Curio out."

"Do you think you'll be catching any Pokémon here yourself? Maybe a Remoraid?"

"Maybe not. I've already got a Fire-type for Ice, and there are better Water-types. What about you?"

"Of course I will be," she said. "Professor Dogwood doesn't have data on it yet, and it's especially pertinent given that - "

"Wait, Dogwood?"

Stella blinked. "Oh, right - Mycelli. Dogwood is her maiden name, sorry."

Merla nodded suspiciously. "I knew that. How do you?"

"Hm?"

"The only reason Roma and I learned that is because of him coming back from the future. How did you find that out?"

Stella fidgeted. "Well, I met her when I started the job - "

"She introduces herself as Professor Mycelli."

Stella pursed her lips together. "Well, it wasn't the first time I met her," she mumbled.

"Repeat that."

She did, more clearly that time. Her cheeks flushed. "My uncle knows her. He works in the Pokémon Medicine field."

Merla nodded. "Alright. What's his name?"

Stella's eyes _definitely_ darted back and forth. "Fort."

"Uh-huh. Is it, now?"

"I can prove it, if you really need to know." She pulled out her Pokégear and tapped a name, 'Uncle Fort'. She'd called him recently. "Want to talk to him, or is that enough?"

"Please."

Stella huffed. "Fine." She tapped on the call button, and the speakerphone rang and echoed through the caves.

"`Hey, Stella. It's a bit early for your checkup, huh?`" The voice at the other end... was definitely a man's voice, that much Merla could tell.

"Hello, Uncle Fort. I'm just calling you because my _nosy parker_ of a coworker needed to make sure you were real." She pointed the Pokégear at Merla. "Is that good enough, or do you need to say hi, too?"

"`Oh, which coworker is it? Roma or Merla?`"

"I'm Merla," she said. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"`Ah, actually, I'm in the middle of a meeting, I'm afraid. Med tech and all that. Sorry, but I guess I'll have to call you back.`"

"That's no problem, Uncle Fort," Stella said. "I'll call you tonight."

"`Great. Talk to you then.`"

She hung up the phone. "See? Now, can you stop asking me prying personal questions? I'd like to catch some Pokémon."

Merla narrowed her eyes, but nodded. "Let's get going." Definitely suspicious...

* * *

"You ready?" Ramson asked as they stood outside the Gym. "You gonna be able to handle it?"

"We're better prepared this time," Roma said. "I won't be going in without knowing what I'm in for."

"If you need to cut out, just say so. Don't need you dying on us."

"Got it." Cut out? Whatever. Roma walked in with Ramson behind him, talking to that Kaoru person about something. Occasionally, Ramson laughed at what she said, and typed a reply. "I'm here for my rematch," he said.

Agnès took notice of him immediately, walking over with a stick in her hand. "I thought you would be back."

"I said I would be."

She paused. "You did." She looked down and winced. "I must apologize to you, Mr. Pomadoro. The behavior I exhibited yesterday was unbecoming of a Gym Leader."

"It's fine - "

She slammed her stick against the ground. "Do not interrupt!" For a moment, Roma felt a different fire than the one he felt in his Gym Battle - a sad one? "It was unfair of me to treat you with such contempt as I had. When I first heard your claims, I'd assumed you were lying."

"I figured you - "

**SLAM!** "Silence!" There it was again - the way she spoke was sad. But, why? It's not like she did anything worth regretting. "I allowed my judgement to be overridden by... prejudice against you, and that was unfair of me. I can only apologize." She bowed. "I will not treat you so poorly again. The Gym Battle today will be at a normal level. Please, follow me - alone, this time." She turned and walked toward the stairs to the arena.

Roma looked back at Ramson, who ushered him onward. He shrugged and followed down the stairs.

"This battle will be a normal Gym Battle," Maple said - she must have been the regular referee. "Only the challenger may change Pokémon, but both trainers may use items. Both trainers may only use up to three Pokémon. Is this understood?"

Both trainers agreed. "Bring out your first Pokémon!" It was Peepfreeze. Roma got out Kasho... a weak choice. "Begin!"

"Peepfreeze, Frost Breath!" Roma called to dodge the attack and waited for the Peck or Air Slash that would punish him, or Shock Wave, especially.

It never came. Instead, she called for a Tackle attack...? _Just like in the match against Nero._ He was getting treated with kid gloves, again.

She'd be disappointed at this rate.

* * *

One... Two... Three... Click! "Yes!" Stella ran up to the Pokéball and picked it up - its new occupant, a Wyrmflake, resting snugly inside.

"That was a tough one," Merla said with a few pants. Stella looked back - Pokéballs littered the ground around them. "I can't believe you managed to get it."

"I was just lucky. You threw as many balls as I did," she said as she tapped the button on the ball for the Pokédex information. "Wyrmflake, the Ice Blood Pokémon," she read. "The oldest of this species has been alive for millenia. Its heart pumps blood as cold as -40º."

"What's its ability?" Merla asked.

"Oh, let me check." She opened the Pokémon management menu. "Uh, looks like it's Supercool."

"Supercool." She looked over Stella's shoulder to read. "That's what Ms. Marcel's Wyrmflake had. But she said only some of them have it."

"The others must have some other ability, then. It's not like it matters, though - just the one here will tell us so much."

"Well, we should get going, then. You've caught Remoraid - "

"I think it will be an interesting subject."

" - a Tarraget and Basilock - "

"They're just as useful, wouldn't you say?"

" - and this Wyrmflake here."

"Should be a great addition to the group."

"We should probably head back." She checked the time. "Roma's probably still at the Pokémon Center recovering, and we should be there to help him."

"I came in here for a Horrorfrost, and I'm catching one," Stella said, arms akimbo. "No ifs, ands, or buts."

Merla shook her head. "Alright, but I'm setting an alarm for 3:30 - a half-hour from now. If we don't find one by then, we're going back."

Stella reluctantly agreed, and they moved deeper in the cave. They didn't have to go far before finding a sign, shaped like a blob of vapor, with curved icicles trailing down. On it were the words, "Warning! Horrorfrost territory! Stay away!" 

"Last chance to turn back," Merla said.

"First chance to charge forward," Stella countered.

Merla looked at her. "No one says that."

"We've got to be careful, though," she said, brushing past it. "According to Pickley, a Horrorfrost can disguise itself as an ordinary icicle to pounce on unsuspecting trespassers bearing torches."

"So, we have to travel in the dark?" She looked down at the floor - covered in ice. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Well, we're using light that Ghost-types can't follow very well." She pointed to the side of her red flashlight, labeled Ghostproof. "It's actually really interesting! The majority of Ghost-types can't see in the full spectrum of light, having better sight with higher vibration levels than lower ones. It's been theorized that - "

"Shh."

"Hm?" Stella put her arm on her hip again.

"We need to watch the ceiling for icicles," she said. "We can't risk a Horrorfrost getting the drop on us."

She nodded. "That's a good point." She pointed her light to the cave ceiling and kept track of which icicles didn't move - which was all of them. There, anyway - but there?! No, just icicles. "We're clear here."

"Over there," Merla pointed. "That one's shuffling."

"Hm?!" She whirled the light to the offending ice stalactite - and it was! "Looks like it hasn't noticed us. Horrorfrost react to light, so don't use anything bright."

"Like our Pokéballs?"

Stella felt the color leave her face. "Like those." She looked to the Pokémon she already had out - her female Nidoran, Mizusaur, and Veilapine. "What do we do?"

"We have the element of surprise," Merla said. "All we need to do is catch it. Once it's noticed us, you can get out your Fire-types and deal damage. Whoever doesn't have its attention gets Pokéballs ready for capture."

"Alright. Where should they be?" she said, gesturing to her Pokémon.

"Take these positions..."

* * *

"Caramark is unable to battle! Poliwag advances!"

Agnès returned the Pokémon to its ball. "You're doing well. My final Pokémon is Wyrmflake - how do you feel?"

Roma crossed his arms. "You're babying me. I can handle this battle the way you were doing it before."

She frowned. "I will not subject you to that again. It was unfair of me."

"You keep saying that, but I'm asking you to - "

" _Enough!_ " She nearly cracked the ground with the force she used to slam her walking stick into the ground. "You're not ready! I refuse to put you in danger like that again!"

"I wasn't in any danger!"

"I disagree!" She threw out her Pokéball. "I have seen one with a stronger heart than you possess collapse like that. I won't allow it again!"

"Stronger heart..." What did she mean by that?

"Both trainers ready?" Maple said. "Begin!"

She called for Frost Breath - of course - which Kasho dodged with Ice Ball. Again, he braced for a Shock Wave - and Kasho was weak enough for it to definitely KO him - but it never came. Instead, she had it use Burst, and he rolled around it easily. This was getting ridiculous - Kasho was definitely open for attack in a lot of places.

"I'm switching Kasho out." He got out Tamaha's Pokéball. "We've got this, Tamaha!"

The Skarmory emerged from her ball with a battle cry and stared down her opponent - the same one from yesterday that knocked her out.

_Not today._ Without an order, she charged forward and started with Metal Claw. It got the order to dodge, and she was just too slow to connect as it leapt up. Roma saw her brace herself - 

but the battle would be easier than that. Instead, it used Frost Breath on Agnès's order, which gave Roma the okay to call orders of his own. "Finish this quick, Tamaha - Steel Wing!" Her wings flashed silver for a moment as she slammed them into Wyrmflake's falling body. Before it even finished rolling, she lumbered forward and hit it again, sending it flying to the wall. It barely had time to regain its wits before she was on it again, throwing her whole body into each strike and battering it.

This whole time, Agnès never gave an order. After the fifth attack, the match was called, in Roma's favor, of course. She returned her Wyrmflake to its ball.

"You have done well, Mr. Pomadoro. I am glad to see that yesterday's loss has only made you more determined to succeed."

"You didn't make it too tough."

"Hey," Ramson said. "She's giving you a badge, man, maybe ease up on the sore winner shtick?"

"I didn't earn it!" he said. "I was fighting at 100% yesterday, but today I barely had to try. She was holding herself back." He looked at her. "And what did you mean by that strong heart thing?"

Agnès nodded, a deep frown on her face. "I know you have questions."She shook her head. "I'm not equipped to give them to you, though." She opened her hand with the badge inside. "You will meet someone soon - he knows a lot more than I do about this."

"Is this something bad?" Ramson asked.

Agnès looked down at the ground for a long moment. "It is not only something bad, no. But I regret my hand in it all the same."

"But what _is_ it?" Roma said. "You're here right now, at least tell me about it so that I know!"

But she only shook her head. "It is not my story to tell. I didn't know her as well as him."

"Alright, so who is he?! At least give me that!"

She set her jaw. "He lives in Pycno Forest, and will be expecting your arrival. Excuse me." She placed the badge in his hand and started down the hall opposite the stairs.

"You didn't even tell me anything!" he shouted after her. He threw the badge on the ground. "What the hell is this supposed to do?!"

"Roma!" Ramson gripped him on the shoulder. Hard. "We can't afford to freak out here. Let's just get back to the Pokémon Center for now."

Roma gritted his teeth. "Fine." He fished the badge from the mud. "Merla's going to need to know about this, too."

* * *

"Time," said the girl named Merla.

The other one, Stella, pointed the light at her watch. "3:27." How she saw it, Horrorfrost had no clue. Of course, it knew all about their plan as a fact, having heard them make it, but what it contained was rather more a mystery.

Merla nodded. "On three. One."

The Pokémon surrounding Horrorfrost's spot got in firing stance, behind gaps in the stalagmites. Though Pokémon were usually fairly easy to spot once they attacked, their positions at the moment were very obscured by the ice's reflective properties.

"Two."

Stella and Merla got out their extra Pokéballs, probably containing replacements.

"Three!"

They fired and launched at Horrorfrost. Faced with the barrage of lights, it did the only thing it could do: brace for impact and drop itself to the ground to avoid as much as it could. It managed to dodge most of the moves, only taking damage from a Charge Beam - not bad for an ambush, and with no Fire-types, which would have been far too easy to see.

A claim on its territory, then. Good, it was getting ready to hunt. It gave a great cry and, flexing its claws, closed in on its prey - the Veilapine! Ice Sickle would make short work of it - 

It returned to its Pokéball and the Stella girl used her Litwick, shooting Embers at it in the moment of confusion. It recoiled back and turned its attention to another mark - the Nidoran.

Yet again, though, as it closed in, the prey was replaced by another - a Ponyta - nasty thing! - and another shot of Embers in its place. Then, was this Trainer a Fire-type trainer? No, she had a Veilapine, a Nidoran, and an Electric-type. Those were likely the last Fire-types she had, then. Then the Electric-type would be an easy mark!

Horrorfrost was so focused on that train of thought it didn't notice the other Fire-type until it struck with Incinerate - very problematic. Where had it come from, the other girl? She'd moved to the other side of the area, so they could distract it. It would have to deal with that later - for now, the Electric-type might demoralize them - 

It was hit by another Charge Beam?! Horrorfrost whirled to see the signs of electricity come from Merla's Fire-type's mouth. It geared up to strike - 

What was that - a burst of light behind it?! Getting a little dizzy by this point, it turned back to see the Veilapine back out and throw a Tackle at nothing. A silly mistake -

Five pellets hit it in the back. Getting confused with who was where, it was an Electric bird that shot it -

Another Incinerate -

Tackle at nothing -

Electric pellets - ooh, and it wasn't leaving -

Ember -

Tackle -

And something struck it in the head - _a Pokéball_. Its head a whirl, Horrorfrost sunk into the ball - for a moment, it considered staying.

It broke from the ball afterward and shook itself back to sense... then doubled over from the pellet's paralysis. This would be no way to fight.

And these girls seemed to be competent planners. Maybe they'd find it newer, better territory. It accepted Merla's Pokéball as it struck, and awaited whatever - or wherever - they would take it to.

* * *

"`So, that's what we did,`" Merla said, finishing her story. "`And now I'm trading the Horrorfrost to Stella for her Wyrmflake.`"

Roma huffed. "`Well, at least you had a good time today.`"

"`I mean, she definitely had a reason for not saying anything,`" Ramson said. "`It's just... she didn't tell us what it was.`"

"`Some people are tight-lipped with secrets,`" Merla said. "`Nothing we can do about that.`"

"`Then she shouldn't have mentioned it at all,`" Roma said. "`It's not like I wouldn't have talked to whoever's in Pycno Forest anyway.`"

"`Nothing we can do about it except meet up with whoever this mystery man is,`" Ramson said.

"`Maybe he'll even help us figure out Team Fortune,`" Merla said. They'd been on the news by this point - maybe he'd heard of them.

"`Maybe not. Let's wait till we have the horse before we rig it up to the cart.`"

"`Huh?`" Roma said - as much as you can say a huh.

"`Alright, I'm back,`" said Stella, walking into the room. "`Wyrmflake and Horrorfrost have been traded.`"

"`Great,`" Merla said. "`I'll get to training it starting tomorrow.`"

"`Can we hit up the town tomorrow, too?`" Ramson said.

"`Why?`"

"`Wel _l..._` "

"` _Ahhh, I get it,_` " Merla said. Ramson set his phone back onto the table. "`I don't see why not. I mean, there's probably someone here that needs help.`" She paused. "`It's only four-thirty... I'm gonna go talk to Woodrow before dinner.`"

"`Have a good time!`" He brought his phone up to his face and turned off the speakerphone. "`So, that's what happened today. I really hope every day isn't like this, but I felt like it would be a good idea for you to hear it firsthand. Talk to you later, Kaoru.`"

The recording cut off.

Kaoru smiled. "Well, it's another day down at least." A laugh came from her throat without as much as a by-your-leave. "With the number of things that have happened to you, Ramson Skordo, I don't think you'll be bored, at the least."

She sent a message off: "Thank you for sending this to me. I get the feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"I thought the same thing," said her partner in conversation. "Figured you'd need it, too."

"I will." She checked the time - 10:00. "I'll be retiring to bed now. Good night. :)"

"Good night, Kaoru. :J"

Kaoru switched off her phone and went through her bedtime ritual. The whole night, the events detailed to her played in her head. Certainly, she couldn't have picked a better person to bring up.

And she couldn't have picked a better novice, in turn. She fell asleep in her bed, a content smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm experimenting with dialogue styles and perspectives. What do you think?
> 
> Ah, the ancient Pokémon Ice-type expert, Isaac Pickley! His work is renowned - huh? Did I name him that to make a stupid "Ice pick" joke? ... Yes. I'm not ashamed to say it.
> 
> Hm. Do you think I should make a Fakemon dex? If I do, where would I put it? Tumblr seems like a bad idea with its image recognition software using a crappy algorithm... the Pokémon subreddit doesn't allow non-related Fakemon... Twitter's just a bad site for art in general. So, what's left? Also, I'm not much of an artist, so there's that, too.


	30. Pressing Issues

"So, why are we the only two going to the farmer's market at..." Ramson checked his phone. "7:30 in the morning?"

"Farmer's markets open early," Roma said simply. "We need to make sure we finish up in Morchella as soon as we can."

"Why, is Stella getting to you?" he asked. "'We need to get to Route 6! There's more Pokémon there!'" He scoffed. "I'd say I admire her work ethic, but, like, she's fourteen! Needs to learn to take the stick - "

"Wait." Roma held out his hand and scanned the area around him. "I think somebody's following us."

"Huh? Seriously?" He turned his back to Roma so they covered each other's blind spots. "Are they Fortune?"

Roma narrowed his eyes. "I don't... think so. Definitely familiar, though."

"How's that?"

Roma hesitated. "I don't know, but it's over there." He flicked his head in the direction of a booth.

"Alright. On three?"

He nodded. "One, two - "

They charged at whatever it was that Roma sensed with reckless abandon. Roma leapt over an empty booth, and Ramson darted around it. Roma rolled a Pokéball into his hand and threw it to reveal Kasho. Ramson couldn't exactly reach his pouch at the moment, but he kept his hand close to it in case.

The probable cause of the issue seemed to be causing a commotion just ahead. A crowd was gathering and whispering things in a pitying tone. Ramson lagged back a bit, apologizing as Roma pushed his way through to find... the runt of Tamaha's litter.

"Wait - has that thing been tailing us the past three days?" Ramson asked.

"That can't be right," Roma said. "Skarmory can't track."

"Excuse me," said one of the farmers. "You know who this Skarlet belongs to?"

"Uh, it's wild," Ramson said.

He sucked in a breath. "I was afraid 'a that." He yelled to someone working at a booth. "Get a chaser, Dewey!"

"Wait, wait! You're gonna chase it off?"

"Pokémon can't be out without their Trainer present. Can't afford to let 'em around here when we could lose stock so easily."

Ramson looked around, at the open-air market. That made sense, he supposed - a rampaging Pokémon could easily overturn any booth it wanted to. "You're not gonna try to catch it, or anything?"

He gave a scoff at the suggestion. "Why bother. Don't need more Bug control, and the runt's too weak to do that, anyway. Probably the only thing it'll be good for is Slugma food."

He grit his teeth at how callously he said it, and could only watch as Dewey, holding a stick, walked through the crowd and started swinging it at the Skarlet.

Roma laid his hand on Ramson's shoulder. The message was clear: "I don't like this, either. But nothing's changed from three days ago - you still don't know how to take care of a Baby Pokémon, and already have your hands full with Magcargo. You can't help. Don't try." At least, that's what Ramson felt like. His eyes tracked the bird as it tried getting out of the way of the stick, being too slow a lot of the time and getting whacked by it.

What a great start to the day.

* * *

"What a great start to today!" Stella said, waking up again. (Roma had woken her up earlier to ask if she wanted to go to the farmer's market, but as much as she enjoyed learning about food, buying it was not as entertaining for her.) "Waking up just in time for the swap meet!"

"Yeah, but make sure you eat first," Merla said, handing her some toast. "We might be leaving right after they get back."

"Right, right." She scarfed it down and rolled up out of bed. "What do you think we're going to get?"

"Who knows?" She stretched and shook out her hands. "I'm definitely ready to get started, though. I've suddenly got a ton of nervous energy." She clenched her fists.

"Well then, shall we make our presence known?"

They walked into the lobby to find a mob of Trainers scattered all around, each one having some item or another clutched in their hands and each one staring at the clock above the medical screen. It was 8:55, and the minute hand was slowly turning toward the hour. She hadn't been expecting... so many people there.

The nurse at the station waved their attention to her. "Alright, everyone," she said, "we're going over the rules before we begin!" A few groans escaped the audience. "And no one makes any swaps before I'm done!" She cleared her throat. "First, you can only swap things you have with you here and now! If you need to head to your room to grab anything, you don't have an agreement! Likewise, you are not required to obligate any deals made in such a manner!

"Second! You may haggle with your fellow Trainers, but you may not get physically violent or intimidating! Violating this rule will result in being evicted from the Center! If there are any disputes between two Trainers for a third's goods, you may step out of the meet to have a Pokémon Battle!

"Third! Only items are permitted to be swapped - no Pokémon or money! Any agreements involving giving away or trading Pokémon are null and void! If we find out you did make a deal like that, you will be evicted!

"Fourth! The swap meet will end at exactly 12 noon, as told by this clock!" She pointed above her. "Any agreements made after that time will not be honored by the Center! There is no way you'll miss the chime, either, so don't make any excuses!

"If you have any rule-related disagreements, speak with any of the nurses working the floor. You may not argue with their ruling on pain of removal from the swap meet." She paused. "Are there any questions?"

One young woman, dressed in very nice clothes and heels, raised her hand. "This is my first time at a swap meet," she said. "Is there a way to know what things are worth?"

The nurse nodded. "Right, knew I forgot something." She held up a flyer. "If any of you are in a similar situation, where this is your first swap meet, please come up to the front desk and take one of these rough price sheets! The prices here are only estimates, but use this as a baseline for swaps!" She nodded, satisfied. "That is all for the rules! We begin on the hour!" The second hand ran smoothly around the clock to 8:59:45.

The tension in that last fifteen seconds was choking, a laser focused on the clock's face threatening to shatter it. Ten more seconds. Five. Four. Three. Two. One - !

The recorded sound of a boxing bell rang from the clock. "Begin the swap meet!" said the nurse, hand thrown into the air.

"Three Soda Pop, one Revive!" "Two P for one SP!" "I've got a Full Restore, who needs it?!" "Looking for TM25! I've got 61!" A cacophony of voices and shouts erupted from the mob, that statement being all they needed to hear.

Stella looked at Merla, slightly intimidated. "Are you ready to throw ourselves into there?"

Merla swallowed. "No." She shouldered her pack. "Let's do this." She took the lead. Fine by Stella. "I've got one Lemonade! Fielding any offers!" She repeated it a couple of times and got a reply.

"I need Lemonade!" someone shouted back as he emerged from the crowd. "Take an HP?"

"Sounds good." She took out an aluminum can and recieved a capsule of pink-colored medicine - a Hyper Potion.

"That's an odd deal," Stella said to him.

"It's too strong for my guys," he said. "Lemonade's perfect. Gotta go." He pocketed it with a mouthed "thanks" and disappeared back into the crowd, brandishing a pearl.

Merla, meanwhile, began shouting, "I've got an HP! Fielding any offers!" without skipping a beat.

"Have you been to one of these before?" Stella asked.

"They had them at the Perigold Town Center every two weeks or so," she said, then repeated her offer. "I never participated in one before, but I'm used to the noise and all."

She nodded. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting it."

She pointed over to a bench, currently unoccupied. "I can take care of this. Go ahead and back up if this is too much for you."

"Yes, I, uh, I believe I will."

Merla watched her sit down, then got back to work. "HP! Fielding all offers!"

"Would you take three SP?!" said someone meeting her.

"Any counteroffers?" She paused. "Sold!"

* * *

"Counterattack, Zubat! This thing's a bug, it's not gonna beat you!" Dewey's Zubat got close up to Enoki and batted at her head with its wings.

"Fury Cutter, one last time!" For the third time, Enoki slashed at the annoying bat with an energy-sharpened claw. She connected again, and it flipped into a tailspin down to the ground, crashing with little ceremony.

"Darn it," Dewey said as he returned it. "This isn't over, though, I've still got my first Pokémon! Go, Towerin!" It was a dark-orange Pokémon with even crown-like spikes on its head, but its small size didn't stop it from having a cocky, determined expression on its face. It took a low stance and starting moving back and forth, its hand on the iron blade on its back. "Use Iron Defense!" Drawing the blade, it created an iron-like shine to glint across its body. Its expression got even smugger.

Enoki brought it down with one Fury Attack. A Fury Attack it _deliberately ran into_. Roma shook his head. Some Pokémon just couldn't think sometimes. Enoki began to glow a bright, blinding white. The truffles on her back merged into one giant truffle as her form shifted to a larger sized nymph - not a full-sized cicada? He'd have to find out about that from Merla or Stella later. As it stood, the glow faded to reveal the bright, shining eyes and deep brown body of Enoki the Parasect.

"That was my last Pokémon," Dewey said. "But, it looks like it worked."

"I would have liked to evolve Kasho, too, but that's alright." He knelt down to Enoki. "Looks like I'm gonna have to bump up the soil, huh?" She trilled happily. That would be amazing! "You're definitely going to need it, with that big truffle on your back." He looked back up to Dewey. "Thanks again."

"Yeah, no problem. I don't think I've ever seen a Parasect before." He leaned in close. "It's actually pretty neat."

"Hey, back up a - " Enoki gave him a warning snap.

He flinched and backed up. "Well, that's kinda rude!"

"She's really protective of those truffles, for some reason." He got out his Pokégear and registered the new entry in the Dex: Parasect, the Mushroom Pokémon. Its truffles are considered choicely edible by gourmets; Parasect are, however, fiercely protective of them, and let no one touch them." Well, that doesn't tell me anything new." He checked her move list next - and found that by evolving, she'd learned Dig as a proper move. No more having to try and make it happen from her already being underground, then. It was a good sign.

"So, now what?" Ramson said, walking over to him as Dewey paid and left. "You gonna find another battle for Kasho, then?"

Roma's attention was drawn to the booth that Dewey walked back to. "Maybe in a minute." He walked over. "This booth - what does it sell?"

"Uh, we sell Berries," Dewey replied. "The boss isn't here yet, though."

"I thought so. I came here a couple days ago, but you didn't have anything, then, either."

"Mm, yeah." He looked down at the barren baskets. "We sell out fast, too - can't help that."

"What kind of Berries do you sell?" Ramson asked.

"Well, it's not like it matters," Roma said. "We've gotta talk to the farmer, anyway."

"Not if we've already got those Berries."

Roma tilted his head back. "Yeah, you're right."

"What's up?" Dewey asked.

"There's this Berry thing we're doin', see?" Ramson said. "It's for some people off Route 1..."

Dewey nodded as Ramson finished his explanation. "Well, you'll need to talk to my boss, then. I don't know the stock by heart - just started here, specifically, last week." A commotion started as a truck pulled into the back of the market. "Ah, there he is now." A crowd of around ten Trainers surrounded the man, holding a crate of some sort of orange Berry in his hands. "Huh, not a big one today. Must be an event going on at the Center."

"Alright," he said, "first crack to whoever gets these to the booth - no fighting, no breaking. Got it?" They each moved to grab a crate of sorted Berries, in pale pink, blue, yellow, and green. As he walked up to the counter, followed by his entourage, he noticed the two people already standing there. "Well, hello again," he said. "Remember me?"

"Ah, you're Loquat!" Ramson said. "From the Gym," he said to Roma. "He was one of the customers."

"Yeah, I was," he said. "You did pretty good on the flavor, kid. Problem was - " He set the crate into its proper place. " - you didn't give it enough time to freeze, even with the Frost Breath. When you tryin' again?"

"I've already got the Sundae Badge." Ramson, behind him, motioned to stop talking about it.

"Alright. Well, don't give up on makin' good ice cream. It wasn't a half-bad attempt." He stood behind the counter. "I hope you're okay with waitin' a bit, by the way. These guys've been waitin' all morning to buy some Berries."

"What kind of Berries are they?"

He waved his hand over the crates. "I've got Pomeg, Kelpsy, Qualot - every Berry that'll help your Pokémon trust you more."

Roma checked the Celebook - and sure enough, there was Loquat's name. Ramson remarked that looking there first would have saved them some trouble. Duly, they waited in line for Loquat to get to them.

* * *

Merla took stock of what she had gotten so far:

  * Stardust, One Bag
  * Super Potion, One
  * Pearl, One
  * Magnet, One
  * Hard Stone, One



Not bad for starting with a can of lemonade and a few sweet potatoes.

She walked up to the counter and asked, "How many slots are there for big-ticket items left?"

The nurse nodded and looked it up on the computer. "We've got two, half past ten and half past eleven. Which one would you prefer?"

Merla looked up at the clock. 10:17... "Let's go with ten thirty." She got out her TM case and placed two on the counter, filling out the slip she was presented. "Thank you."

"Of course, ma'am. Thank you for participating."

Merla took a break - thankfully, things had quieted down a bit since the start, as people got what they came for and left for the day - and sat next to Stella. "How are you doing?"

"I've never seen so many things getting traded at once." She smiled wearily. "Watching you run around like that made me feel tired. I can't imagine it was very easy."

"Like I said, I'm used to the noise. We did weekend field trips to the Center all the time at the Trainer's School."

"Ah. I sat in at business meetings with my uncle, but those are nothing like this." She watched the people going back and forth to make deals. "They're a lot more sedate, by comparison."

"Did you ever have any school trips?"

"Not really. I didn't go to traditional school." She tapped her head. "I can go through a textbook pretty quick, after all."

"Oh, yeah. The psychic thing." She huffed. "Man, I wish I could have done that. It would have done a lot in history." She tilted her head. "Then again, I only really learned how to study then, so I guess it's a little give-and-take."

"I have no idea how people study." She frowned. "That makes sound like a jerk, but I mean I don't know how to at all."

"Do you understand everything as soon as you read it, then?"

She put her head onto her palm. "Not immediately, but then I just move on. A lot of things like battle strategy, I just don't understand."

"That usually takes a lot more practical experience, yeah." She smiled. "I can give you a few pointers, if you need them."

Stella shifted her head. "I think I can manage without... then again, we will be dealing with some mysterious bunch of ruffians. Knowing a little more about fighting isn't a bad idea."

"Alright!" Merla said, briefly wondering who talked like that, then looked up at the clock. "We can start after the next big-ticket swap, okay?"

"Oh, is that what you were doing? What was it you put up?"

Merla put her finger to her lips. "I can't say what it is out loud - that's one of the rules."

"But it's something you wanted to get rid of?"

"Well, it's not like we don't have more of them."

"Huh?"

"Hey, we're back!" Ramson said, walking into the bedlam in the Center. "How's tricks?"

"Whose tricks?" Roma asked. Ramson's eyes grew half a size, and his head jerked up.

"No, Who's the center," he said with a smile plastered on his face.

"What's a center?"

"What's on Right." He pointed at some invisible point in front of him.

"Who's a right - what?"

"Yes."

Roma stared at him, smiling ear-to-ear. He smacked him upside the head.

"Okay, okay, yeah, I deserved that one," he said with a laugh. "Remind me to play you the 'Who's the Center' routine later."

"Oh, it looks like it's almost time." Merla stood up. "I've gotta go do something, so just stay here and wait for me, okay?"

What she was doing was quickly answered by the sound of a fight bell ringing, and a nurse announcing through a microphone into the lobby, "Ladies and gentlemen, our 10:30 big-ticket item is ready! Anyone who is willing to bid, please pay attention.

"This item comes from Merla Traub, and the only accepted offers will be for TMs! No other offers will be entertained." Merla stood at the head of the Center, behind the counter. "This item," the nurse continued, "is a set of two Gym TMs: TM074 Flame Charge, and TM002 Frost Breath! I repeat: TM074 Flame Charge and TM002 Frost Breath! Only TM offers will be entertained! Please line up horizontally and present any offer you would like to make, placing your items on the Center counter." Around ten people broke from the main mob and placed sorted groups of small cartridges down, in cream colors, in purple ones, pink, even a few blue ones.

Merla looked over the myriad choices she could choose from: some of the TMs were duplicated between offers, so the number of srtictly _exclusive_ TMs was very few... but those TMs were very impressive ones, ones she'd have trouble finding if she looked. She asked one of the people about what exactly _this_ particular TM was - Swift - and another what _that_ one was - Helping Hand - oh, and some Dragon-type move? That could be useful for Wyrmflake - but if it was a Status move, that would be less helpful - but this was a powerful one, too, and Ghost-type. It was almost too many options.

She came to her last offeree - and recognized her. "Eileen?"

"Merla! It's good to see you again!"

"Good to see you, too. How are you and... Keith?"

"Doing well, actually! I decided to ask the Gym Leader for advice after what happened last time, and she told me to get help here." She looked around. "I didn't expect all this commotion."

"You came at an odd time. But, you're up here. What do you have to swap?"

"Right!" She got out a brand-new TM case and opened it - to reveal several discs. She looked between them and the cards everyone else had. "Oh, wait. These don't look like..."

Merla smiled sympathetically. "That's alright. We can catch up after this, alright?"

Eileen nodded and walked away, slightly dismayed. Merla shook her head and refocused on the decision. This one, or that one? But this was another Swift in his pile, and... Merla nodded. "I've made my decision." She placed the two TMs in front of one particular Trainer. "I like your selection best." Merla looked at the Trainer beside her. "Though, I'd like to talk to you about that Dragon-type one, if you can spare some time."

She pumped her fist in triumph. The other one nodded, and the rest walked away.

So, in exchange for two TMs, Merla recieved:

  * TM035 Work Up
  * TM053 Nature Power
  * TM091 Return
  * TM094 Snarl
  * and TM110 Swift.



The really strong TMs would come easily later. Right now, building a strong foundation was important. Snarl was a good utility, too, so it only made sense.

But as for the person with the Dragon-type TM, he was definitely just as important. Dragon Rage wouldn't cut it as a move as long as Merla could help it.

* * *

"But, yeah, he was pretty reasonable," Ramson said. "So, that makes four Berry farmers, right?"

"According to Celebook," Roma said, checking it again. "Yep, four. I wonder how many are left?"

"Oh, it's you guys, too!" Eileen said. "How have you been?"

"Doing well, so far. What brings you here?"

"Well, I wanted to get advice on battling for my and Keith's next date. If those Team Fortune people show up there, I'd like to be able to protect myself."

"Reasonable, if you ask me." He looked down to her shoes. "You might want to change your shoes, though - heels seem like a bad idea."

"Hm?" She glanced down. "Oh, okay. I'll keep that in mind."

Merla greeted her friends, bringing along one of the swappers. "Alright, so this is the last swap I'm doing today. Here's what I have." She showed him a paper.

The guy nodded and looked it over... and handed it back. "I really don't need most of this stuff." He held out a royal-blue TM. "We've got Dragon Pulse now, so I can take a loss, but I still paid ¥8500 for this."

"Ah." She looked over the list - even counting everything up, it didn't total even most of that amount - ¥4000, maybe. "Maybe we can work something out?"

"Oh, I can help!" Eileen said, rummaging in her bag.

"That's okay, Eileen, you don't - "

"I said I'd thank you properly later," she said, "and I'm going to." She looked at a flyer, then dug out a hunk of golden-colored metal. "This should be worth about ¥5000, right? That should cover the rest."

Merla looked at the Nugget, then turned to the other party. "The Nugget, Pearl, and Stardust. That's worth enough, right?"

After a second, he nodded. "Yeah, it's about right. Sounds good." He picked up the items and, handing her the TM, he left.

"Thank you, Eileen," she said.

Eileen took the TM from her hand. "You can thank me once it's yours."

Merla blinked. "Okay, why are you doing that?"

"I want you to show me how to battle. Then, I'll give it to you."

"I would have done that anyway. Do you not trust me?"

"I do, and I know," she said. "But my dad's been screwed over more than once because people take advantage of his trusting them. I need to make sure. This is a deal we're both in on, and you're going to have to buy me out."

Merla narrowed her eyes. "I don't think this is very fair."

"It's business. These are contracts, and that's the law."

She sighed and pinched her eyes shut. "Fine. Let's go outside."

* * *

The battlefield itself was occupied at the time with a Water-type battle, so they sat on the benches beside. "Since neither of you are very good at battling," Merla said to Stella and Eileen, "I'll go over the basics. Feel free to take notes, Eileen." Eileen got out a notepad and multi-color pen. Merla thought back to the lessons she'd had at the Trainer School. Imitating Mr. Nero, she jumped in.

"The most obvious part of battling is making sure your Pokémon can outlast your opponents. Generally, the best way to do this is to reduce their stamina too low to stand, whether through direct attack or something like poisoning or burning..."

Eileen wrote furiously on the pad every sentence Merla said, paring down the major ideas and linking ideas with different ink colors. The basics of type matchups, item usage, the importance of taking care of your Pokémon - these were all important points...

She raised her hand. "What Pokémon should I choose first?"

Merla's lecture came to a grinding halt. She was asking about how to battle, without even having a Pokémon to start with...? Wasn't that a little, you know, asinine?

"One you can trust," Roma said, off to the side. "If it fits the way you think, that's even better."

Merla nodded. "Exactly. It's important to think about Type, too - each one has moves that you might prefer compared to others. Around here, there are Ice-types and Steel-types, for example..."

Eileen got back to taking pages of notes. Even if the information wasn't getting through, she could always look over the notes later.

"Those are the basics, I'd say," Merla said. "If you need more help, you should proably ask Agnès for more information."

"I'll do that! Ah, but." She looked at one line. "What did you mean by 'Dual-types can be worse or better off than single-types in certain cases'? What cases are those?"

"Stella, you've got a Numel," Merla said, and turned to the arena. "Looks like we can use the field right now. Could you help me demonstrate? You, too, Roma."

Stella nodded and stood. The lesson was obvious to her, of course - Numel, a Fire- and Ground-type, was very weak to Kasho's Water type. She'd likely have him use Water Gun and show the weakness - or maybe use its double resistance to Bug? There were a few possibilities - 

Stella slipped on a patch of ice left behind from the last battle and yelled. Roma was on her in an instant, checking to see if she was injured. He pressed on her leg - painful, really painful... but it wasn't broken.

"I think you sprained it," he said. "We're not going anywhere today." He picked her up in a bridal carry. "I'll take you to a doctor."

"Let me help," Ramson said as he took her upper half.

Eileen covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't asked you to - "

"It happens," Merla said with a shake of her head. "People can get injured by Pokémon battles if they aren't careful. Remember that, too. Always pay attention to your surroundings."

"Of course," she said with a nod. "Here. I'm sorry again." She placed the TM into her hand and walked away, head hung low.

Merla looked at the number on it - TM110. What a way to get it. She walked into the Center just in time for the chime of a deep, flat bell to play from the clock. 12:00. Swap meet over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dewey's name comes from the Honeydew Melon.  
> Loquat's name comes from the Loquat fruit, originally from China and introduced to Japan very early. It's also called Chinese or Japanese plum.
> 
> Ah, so long, Morchella! You've been good to me! You've givenme the chance to set up so many plot elements! (waves farewell) True morel genus of mushrooms, I thank you for your name! I would never eat you, but I'm happy you're around! (Though, I suppose you'd prefer it that way.)
> 
> Another one gone, another one gone! Another chapter goes up! I've actually got a buffer now, though! Turns out, next chapter, I had a lot to say. ;^_- I'm glad for that, though - it means I can update my other fic, too! It feels so nice knowing where you're going. If any of my readers are writing fic of his or her own, remember: **planning is key if it's not a oneshot.** You don't want to be knee deep in a scene and realize, wait, I'm not going anywhere with this! Have a plan not just for the end, but for one chapter down the line, five, and ten. It'll be a good exercise!
> 
> Next time: Here's the Wind Up! Meet the Powerful Punch! Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you can read this, you've run out of fanfic! I'm going to update this on the 1st and 15th of every month - at least, that's the plan! Please, tell me what you think - I promise I won't bite.


End file.
